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Facial recognition

Facial recognition

Latest news, in-depth features and opinion on facial recognition technology, its development, application and concerns over its use.

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Trending in China

China boy smashes glass ceiling, chandelier worth total of US$56,000 in Labubu rage

5 hours ago

A petulant child in China who was refused a Labubu toy caused US$56,000-worth of damage to a home when his request for the cuddly figure was rejected. Photo: SCMP composite/RedNote

China Opinion

Opinion | Under Trump, is the US no longer interested in playing maritime referee?

11 Aug 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Illustration: Stephen Case

Trends

Why Asian women are reclaiming tradition with teeth blackening

9 Aug 2025 - 2:00PM

Aspiring fashion designer Mou Isabel Phung, who goes by Mou, at Camille Renée’s senior show at the Columbus College of Art and Design. Photo: Gabrielle Shamon

Diplomacy

Trump may hit China with punitive tariffs over purchases of Russian oil

11 Aug 2025 - 7:21AMvideocam

US Vice President J.D. Vance said on Sunday that US President Donald Trump was thinking about additional tariffs on China, similar to a punitive 25 per cent tariff recently imposed on India over purchases of Russian oil. Photo: dpa

Diplomacy

China ships collide during clash with Philippine vessel at Scarborough Shoal

11 Aug 2025 - 7:52PMvideocam

Philippine coastguard video released on Monday appeared to show a Chinese coastguard vessel and a PLA Navy ship colliding near the disputed Scarborough Shoal. A Chinese statement on Monday made no mention of a collision. Photo: Philippine Coast Guard

Hong Kong police will install surveillance cameras on 60 patrol cars that will be able to identify vehicles and licence plates. Photo: Sam Tsang

Hong Kong police

Hong Kong police could deploy facial recognition tech in CCTVs by end of year

Technology will enable officers to identify suspects and missing people in real time, and force will also install surveillance cameras on patrol cars.

25 Jul 2025 - 8:30AM

Hong Kong society

Hong Kong lawmakers call for facial recognition system at upgraded land crossing

8 Jul 2025 - 12:37AM

China technology

Editorial | Facial recognition in China calls for protective measures

5 Apr 2025 - 5:41AM

No facial recognition without consent: China lays down the law on pervasive tech

Measures from cyberspace regulator and police ministry taking effect on June 1 mark first major attempt to regulate widely used technology.

22 Mar 2025 - 8:00PMvideocam

The widespread use of facial recognition technology in daily life in China has prompted increasing public concerns about privacy and security. Photo: Reuters

These AR glasses can tell you names and addresses of people you meet

Two students created augmented reality smart glasses that identify people they see, exposing the risks of mixing AI with facial recognition.

13 Nov 2024 - 4:15PM

Artificial intelligence

Founder of Alibaba-backed AI firm named chairman at Chinese carmaker Lifan

In July, Megvii signed a deal with Geely and a local tech hub to develop internet-connected intelligent cars and AI projects in Chongqing.

12 Nov 2024 - 8:30PM

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China’s leading apps, including WeChat and Taobao, test proposed cyber ID system

More than 50 apps recently started accepting virtual IDs created under this proposed authentication system for user account registration and login.

1 Aug 2024 - 5:00PM

Legal experts have expressed concerns over the proposed regulation’s implications on mainland app users’ privacy and government oversight. Photo: Shutterstock

Artificial intelligence

Ex-IBM scientist helms Shanghai AI Lab after death of SenseTime’s Tang

Zhou Bowen, former chief scientist of IBM’s Watson Group, has been appointed director at one of China’s top AI research institutions.

5 Jul 2024 - 7:00PM

Opinion | How China can face up to accusations of mass surveillance

The rollback of face scanning in hotels across the country is a good start. Citizens’ concerns about privacy in sectors including finance and transport must also be addressed.

7 May 2024 - 9:46PMvideocam

Chinese AI giant SenseTime suspends trading as shares surge more than 30%

SenseTime’s shares gained as much as 36 per cent after the company launched the latest iteration of its SenseNova large language model.

24 Apr 2024 - 6:41PM

Chinese artificial intelligence champion SenseTime halted trading in Hong Kong on Wednesday, pending a company announcement. Photo: Shutterstock

China’s Communist Party

China’s premier, top officials pay tribute to late AI visionary Tang Xiao’ou

Li Qiang, Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang among Chinese leaders paying respects to the leading facial recognition expert and SenseTime co-founder, who died Friday.

20 Dec 2023 - 11:39PMvideocam

Top Chinese officials paid tributes on Tuesday to the late SenseTime co-founder Tang Xiao’ou, who died Friday from an undisclosed illness. Photo: Weibo/SenseTime

Artificial intelligence

AI advances boost online disinformation, censorship and surveillance: report

Generative AI-based tools were used in at least 16 countries to distort information on political or social issues over the period June 2022 to May 2023, according to the annual Freedom on Net report.

4 Oct 2023 - 4:22PMvideocam

Hong Kong economy

UAE economy minister to hold talks with Hong Kong hi-tech AI company SenseTime

Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri says one reason for trip to Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong is to meet city tech firms that can broaden UAE’s oil-based economy.

13 Sep 2023 - 11:21PM

X (formerly Twitter)

Elon Musk says X, formerly Twitter, will add voice and video calls

Musk says the app’s voice and video calls will work on Apple and Android devices, as well as on computers.

1 Sep 2023 - 1:16PM

China technology

China to tighten the rules on use of facial recognition technology

Tech can only be used to process biometric data in ‘certain conditions’ and when there is ‘sufficient’ need, according to draft rules.

8 Aug 2023 - 7:09PMvideocam

China has a vast network of security cameras installed across the country. Photo: AFP

US-China relations

North Koreans who fled to China may be sent back to harsh fate, US panel hears

Up to 2,000 North Koreans were arrested after escaping to China during the coronavirus pandemic, and many are now languishing in camps near the Chinese border.

14 Jun 2023 - 9:18PMvideocam

Opinion | In technological race for convenience, we must not leave privacy in the dust

China and other countries are quickly adopting biometric payment methods, digital currency and IoT tech for everyday needs, but many worry progress comes at a cost.

13 Jun 2023 - 6:37PMvideocam

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‘Like being in a fishbowl’: spotlight on prisoners’ privacy in Singapore

Constant surveillance with cameras using facial recognition technology violates prisoners’ privacy and increases risk of bias against minority communities, advocates say. And it’s not just Singapore.

22 Feb 2023 - 3:31PM

AI security cameras using facial recognition technology are displayed at a product exhibition in China. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS

How Chinese students made an ‘invisibility cloak’ that evades security cameras

The InvisDefense coat allows the wearer to be seen but not detected as human, with implications for anti-drone tech and the battlefield.

5 Dec 2022 - 5:37PMvideocam

Australia bets on facial recognition to deter problem gamblers

Despite concerns about privacy and surveillance, the tech – which uses AI to identify addicts who have asked to be barred from betting sites – will target problem gambling in a country where the addiction affects some 1 per cent of the population.

5 Nov 2022 - 5:06AMvideocam

Artificial intelligence

Chinese AI giant Megvii said to implement fresh round of lay-offs

Speculation about retrenchment of workers in China’s AI industry reflects the uncertainties brought by US trade sanctions and further restrictions imposed by Washington.

25 Oct 2022 - 9:00PMvideocam

The latest round of lay-offs at Megvii Technology is just “normal personnel adjustment”, according to a company representative. Photo: Shutterstock

Artificial intelligence

US unveils artificial intelligence ‘Bill of Rights’ to safeguard civil rights

The Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights does not set out specific enforcement actions, instead serving as guidance for the federal government.

5 Oct 2022 - 12:07PMvideocam

A live demonstration uses artificial intelligence and facial recognition in a dense crowd at the Horizon Robotics exhibit at the Las Vegas Convention Center during CES 2019. Photo: TNS

Young video gamers deterred by China’s harsh rules, but loopholes remain

Gamers aged between six and 17 totalled 83 million in China this year, down from 122 million two years ago, according to Niko Partners.

14 Aug 2022 - 11:00AMvideocam

‘Orwellian’ facial recognition cameras in UK stores challenged by rights group

Big Brother Watch urged Britain’s Information Commissioner’s Office to investigate whether Southern Co-operative’s use of biometric scans, which monitors for blacklisted customers, violates data laws.

27 Jul 2022 - 10:10AM

Artificial intelligence

Meet the 75-year-old propelling China’s AI ambitions forward

Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, one of AI’s most influential figures, has exerted a profound impact on the country’s technology pioneers, who have gone on to start multibillion-dollar start-ups.

25 Jul 2022 - 11:31AMvideocam

Andrew Chi-Chih Yao attends an HKUST seminar on “Quantum Computing: A Great Science in the Making” on January 28, 2016. Photo: SCMP/Edmond So

Exclusive | Where does SenseTime go after its US sanction-delayed stock sale?

What happened with SenseTime reflects how growing animosity between the US and China is catching Hong Kong in the crossfire between the world’s two largest economies.

23 Jul 2022 - 11:50AMvideocam

Illustration by Lau Ka-kuen

US ‘smart city’ tech highlights contrasts with China over privacy, control

American communities try to balance the benefits of new technology with the threats of a surveillance state.

29 Jun 2022 - 9:39AMvideocam

Ant Group-backed smart vending machine start-up seeks Hong Kong IPO

Beijing Ubox Online Technology Corp, which posted over US$204 million in losses over the past two years, had been working for more than four years to list on the A-shares market, but withdrew its IPO application in 2021.

1 Jun 2022 - 7:00PM

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