(Yicai) Aug. 9 -- China, a pioneer in facial recognition technology, has drawn up rules on its use to protect people’s personal information amid widespread concern.

Businesses must obtain each individual’s consent for use of the technology and it can be only used to process information for a specific purpose and with sufficient need under strict protections, according to the document the Cyberspace Administration of China published yesterday.

Users of the technology that install face-scanning cameras in public spaces or store the facial recognition data of more than 10,000 people need to file a record with regulators within 30 working days, the draft rules also state.

Related equipment should be tested by qualified institutions based on national standards before being sold or used and users should conduct annual tests to assess the equipment’s safety and possible risks, per the document.

The internet regulator is now soliciting public feedback on the regulations.

The purpose of the new rules is not to ban such technologies completely, but to advocate responsible use under the premise of ensuring safety, Yang Jie, a researcher at the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, told Yicai.

The main issues with the use of facial recognition technology are the failure to obtain informed consent, substandard privacy policies, and the risk of personal information being abused, Yang said.

Personal information as a special data resource has a cleat value, Yang said, adding that economic interests increasingly lead businesses to violate the right to privacy. Moreover, network security risks are becoming dangerous because of generative artificial intelligence and large language models, he added.

Maturing AI technologies increase the need for regulatory oversight. The logic of the cybersecurity sector regarding attack, the defence, and regulation will undergo major changes while new rules for generative AI are likely to be included in cybersecurity, Founder Securities wrote in a recent report. 

Editor: Emmi Laine