China Limits Private Use of Facial Recognition on ‘Individuals Who Do Not Agree,’ but Exempts Security Agencies

According to a March 25 statement from China’s Cyberspace Administration and Ministry of Public Security, organizations are banned from using facial recognition in that country without consent. Under the new rules, which go into effect in June, organizations must conduct a “personal information protection impact assessment” approved by the ministry to use the technology.

Facial recognition technology is “widespread in Chinese cities,” Reuters reported, for hotel check-ins, gated communities, and other use cases. Law enforcement and public security organizations also use facial recognition, but the new rules only cover private businesses and organizations and don’t mention security authorities.

Facial recognition is banned in many public areas

Specifically, the use of any facial recognition software will be banned in areas such as hotel rooms, public bathrooms, and public dressing rooms. The ministry’s assessment measures whether organizations:

Encrypt individuals’ biometric data

Audit the information security practices they use to secure facial scans

Offer alternative ID methods

In addition, each individual must give consent to be included. Organizations should post signs alerting citizens that they are in an area where facial recognition may be in use.

Organizations using facial recognition for research or for training algorithms (such as those used in large language models) are exempt from the rules protecting Chinese citizens.

The Cyberspace Administration said it acted in accordance with increasing concerns about facial recognition in society. “Individuals who do not agree to identity verification through facial information should be provided with other reasonable and convenient options,” it told Reuters.

The role of facial recognition in surveillance

The change tightens some existing rules regarding corporate use of facial recognition. Public opinion in China was largely against facial recognition in public places, according to a 2021 study by the Beijing News. At that time, the use of facial recognition to verify identity in public places was banned by China’s Supreme Court. In 2022, a court ruled in favor of a Chinese resident who sued his estate management company over mandatory facial recognition.

Generative AI has added a new wrinkle to conversations about facial recognition across the globe. AI that can scan photos of people’s faces may be able to match those faces to the real person.

“A few countries have decided that it is acceptable to perform widespread facial recognition, while some others outlaw it in all cases,” eWeek’s Kathryn Timonera wrote in 2024. “Most draw the lines somewhere in the middle.”
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