A Chinese academic has filed a lawsuit against his local safari park, which required a face-scan upon admission
, a legal academic in the eastern city of Hangzhou, likes to spend his leisure time at a local safari park. But when the park informed season-pass holders like him that admission would require a face-scan, Mr Guo objected. Late last month he filed a lawsuit, claiming the new rules violated his privacy. Facial-recognition technology is widely used in China. Doubtless to the relief of the government which makes extensive use of it, there has been little public debate about it.
It is surprising that it has taken so long for the judiciary to get involved. Some 300 tourist sites in China use facial recognition to admit visitors. The safari park says doing so can shorten queues. Many office workers in Beijing’s main financial district clock in and out of work by scanning their faces. Some campuses and residential buildings use facial-recognition cameras to screen people entering.
In China’s social media, many of the thousands of commentators on Mr Guo’s case have expressed fears about the sale of personal information to third-party marketers. “In China there is no protection of privacy!” said one comment on Weibo that was “liked” more than 1,500 times. China’s consumer-rights law requires consent from consumers before personal information can be collected and stored. If the court in Hangzhou sides with Mr Guo, other Chinese firms will need to pay heed.
By encouraging such discussion, the government may be betting that any ire will not be redirected at the state’s use of the technology. But a few commentators have hinted at their disquiet about more than just the lax attitudes of businesses towards privacy. “There’s a feeling that everything you say and do is being monitored. It’s terrifying,” said one. Another simply wrote: “1984”.
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