China bans compulsory facial recognition and its use in private spaces like hotel rooms
China bans compulsory facial recognition and its use in private spaces like hotel rooms
33 comments
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The rules also ban the use of facial recognition equipment in public places such as hotel rooms, public bathrooms, public dressing rooms, and public toilets.
This makes sense.
But this also means private businesses are still allowed to use facial recognition everywhere else you aren't getting naked, lie a hotel lobby.
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I feel like it should not allow cameras in general.
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It's much more convenient to scan your bunghole in the bathroom.
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Which is fine. At the end of the day, it's another technology with uses and abuses.
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Wow, didn't expect that from China but it sounds like a step in the right direction!
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Me too, although the Chinese government itself will still use this technology extensively
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TBF China and Russia are pretty much the only nations actively using widespread facial recognition technology literally everywhere not explicitly banned.
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Yeah, what a consolation... fucking dystopian either way.
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I'd only expect this from China
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Given that the US government has recognized how unprotected technology (like unencrypted messaging) leaves its individual employees vulnerable to Chinese snoopers, I wonder if China is starting to realize just how vulnerable its pervasive unencrypted tech could leave it to US snooping.
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The rules also ban the use of facial recognition equipment in public places such as hotel rooms, public bathrooms, public dressing rooms, and public toilets.
Why was there facial recognition, or any other sort of camera, in those places in the first place? Has something been mangled in the translation, is it a fuss about nothing, or were organisations genuinely going "hmm, we need to check your face before you can use the restrooms"?
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Chinese fintech giant Alipay has for some years now had the "Smile to Pay" system: Alipay users can pay for something by just smiling into the camera in an Alipay "Smile to Pay" POS terminal. IIRC KFC was the first place to have it.
In China, many operators of public toilets seek to prevent theft of toilet paper (I shit you not 😉) by having some kind of rationed dispenser (a certain user can only receive a certain amount of paper in a certain amount of time) or a vending machine.
Public toilet + toilet paper vending machine + "Smile to Pay" = facial recognition in toilets.
- https://chinahandsmagazine.org/2019/11/01/your-toilet-knows-non-surveillance-uses-of-facial-recognition-in-china/
- https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3112836/facial-recognition-toilet-paper-dispensers-china-put-hold-privacy-concerns
In fact, I think a few wanted fugitives have been caught (out?) by the cameras on toilet paper vending machines.
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Chinese fintech giant Alipay has for some years now had the "Smile to Pay" system: Alipay users can pay for something by just smiling into the camera in an Alipay "Smile to Pay" POS terminal. IIRC KFC was the first place to have it.
I thought you were kidding but who the hell thought this ridiculous concept was a good idea? Putting aside the security implications, did no one see how absurd it is?
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Some places in China are so technologically advanced, that every single thing you do is approved, verified and protected by facial recognition. Carrying a wallet/cash, locking doors, encountering traffic, and even petty crime in general are a thing of the past. In exchange, you're monitored at all times by multiple cameras everywhere you go
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Nice!
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'we don't like it when OTHER people do it. This is Our Thing.'
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Hold on. I can put a facial recognition camera in a public bathroom if it's for AI in China. That can't be right
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IDK what the rules are, but here (Denmark / EU) they are in self checkouts in supermarkets.
So I don't see why hotels and bathrooms shouldn't be able to use it too?At least China is putting some protection in, and acknowledge there is a line where privacy should be respected.
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I mean any camera in an area where you are either pooping or getting naked is a big no no. I'd be surprised if it wasn't illegal in most countries.
I think I need to get a browser translator plugin that does chinese so I can actually read from the source rather than second hand in an article only.
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Oh, I see. Another "rules for thee" type thing.
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They want a monopoly on surveillance lol
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Not sure why the down votes, other than that I suppose they could have just mandated back doors to all cameras for their own use, and to shut them down whenever desired (like when a party man is in the loo).
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33 comments