Research of facial recognition technology has been ongoing since the 1960s. In recent years, this technology is increasingly mature and has similarly been applied in various fields. At present, facial recognition technology in Germany, Japan, the United States, and other places have made good development, and has been applied in many fields. In China, the development of the science and technology industry often start from the field of technological application. Relying on the huge domestic market, the support of national policies and the influx of venture capital, the application of facial recognition technology in the Chinese market is rapidly spreading and has the potential to catch up with developed countries.
Facial recognition technology has been used by U.S. government agencies for over 10 years. At present, with the development of artificial intelligence-based vision technology, mobile internet, and information transmission technology, facial recognition technology for one has made great breakthroughs in its application, including face authentication, access control, security, monitoring, smart card, law enforcement, face database, multimedia management and human-computer interaction, among others. In addition, they are widely used in financial, judicial, military, public security, frontier defense, government, aerospace, electric power, factories, medical, and many other fields. Facial recognition technology, for example, could help regulators spot criminals and prevent identity fraud, as well as find missing children or identify protesters in moving crowds. E-commerce companies are also using facial recognition technology to improve the user experience with face swipes, and their cameras can even detect the expressions of consumers when they look at products.
However, the mass use of facial recognition technology has created new problems. It is also beginning to cause considerable opposition around the world. Perhaps surprisingly, the most prominent opposition came from California, the state with the most innovative economy in America. In May 2019, in a poll in San Francisco, officials from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 8-1 to pass an ordinance banning government agencies from buying and using facial recognition technology. The ban was part of an anti-surveillance ordinance enacted by the San Francisco’s Oversight Committee. The regulation prohibits police and other government agencies from using facial recognition technology. The move is aimed at strengthening the regulation of new technologies and eliminating the potential for privacy breaches. Despite having a crime rate higher than the American average, San Francisco is under scrutiny for passing regulations banning the new technology. Lawmakers from both parties now generally want to curtail government surveillance or restrict the use of cameras by enterprises to monitor consumer behavior.
Despite the fact that California is the world's most technologically inclusive and technologically advanced state, San Francisco has become the first American city to ban the use of facial recognition technology, something worth thinking about. What does the San Francisco ban tell us about the development of such technologies? What are the concerns of those in favor of limiting the use of this technology? Will it have a demonstrative effect to other countries and regions?
Researchers at ANBOUND believe that the San Francisco ban shows that the mass use of facial recognition technology is no longer a technology or a market issue, but a public policy issue involving human rights and information security. Thus, the San Francisco ban may have as much to do with California's perception of the consequences of the use of information technology as it does with the state's left-leaning tradition. Officials in San Francisco are well aware that the mass use of this technology could have far-reaching implications for individual rights, privacy and government surveillance of citizens. The San Francisco ban, if implemented, could prompt other cities and states to follow suit in the future.
It should be emphasized that the problems posed by facial recognition technology are not unique to the United States, but are common in most countries worldwide. ANBOUND’s researchers certainly understand that while there are significant differences between China and western countries in the recognition and protection of the right to personal information, China, which is vigorously promoting the use of facial recognition technology, also needs to think ahead. In our opinion, there are the following issues concerning public policy that need the attention of relevant government departments:
Firstly, does the application of facial recognition technology need to be limited in scope? Facial recognition systems are increasingly being used in real life, for instance, in police stations, public transport systems, homes, shops, schools, concerts etc. According to the standard of "grid management" which is popular in domestic cities in recent years, there will be a huge amount of public space to be included in the application range of facial recognition technology, in theory, and the power of the government will expand to a large range with the application of technology. If the application range of facial recognition technology is not limited, and the relevant information collection and use are not regulated by laws and regulations, then sooner or later there will be disputes about civil rights and privacy, which may cause a number of legal problems in the society. It is worth noting that China could also face a lot of criticism from the international community if the technology is not handled properly in this area.
Secondly, how will the government be able to ensure the security of citizens' personal information? This problem has been prominent in China. In recent years, there have been many cases of personal information theft in China. It is worth noting that the leakage of personal information for profit can also occur in banks, telecommunications departments, value-added service providers, various Internet sites and e-commerce sites, to name a few. If this situation doesn't change, the vast array of personal information collected by facial recognition technology will almost certainly provide a new kind of personal information disclosure.
Thirdly, how to perfect the relevant laws in this highly information-based society? There are many new problems in this information society that were not covered by traditional laws and regulations. In the field of facial recognition technology, which has a large application market demand, a situation that relevant laws and regulations fail to keep pace with the real development is more prominent. It is not easy to formulate relevant laws and regulations as it is hard to define the corresponding standards, rights, and responsibilities of the government, individuals, technology R&D institutions and technology application institutions involved. Guo Bing, an associate professor at Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, recently filed a lawsuit against Hangzhou Wildlife World for unilaterally enforcing facial recognition, infringing citizens' personal information and violating the provisions of China’s consumer protection law. This case shows that the legal issues facing the facial recognition technology are urgent, and thus legislation and legal protection work need to be initiated as soon as possible. In addition, the relevant legislation should be in line with international practice and in reference to European and American practices and principles.
Fourthly, how to prevent the risk of technology abuse and technical mistakes? Under the current technical level, the mass application of immature facial recognition technology may certainly cause many negative consequences in society. Particularly, any technical errors present may cause considerable losses in the fields of personal property security, finance, electronic payment and etc. If there is a recurrence of technology abuse, the resulting risks may be magnified. To solve the problems in this field, it is necessary to have the participation of technology developers, users and industry managers to jointly establish and improve the technical standards, quality standards and application standards in the industry.
Final analysis conclusion:
The application of facial recognition technology is spreading rapidly in China, but international cases show that mass use of this technology could bring about various public policy issues to society. China needs to learn from international experience, take precautions from the aspects of the rights of the government and citizens, the scope of technology application, laws and regulations and technology security, among others. Besides that, China should also formulate laws and carry out policy research in advance, so as to avoid significant negative social effects caused by the mass application of facial recognition technology.
