Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Monday, Sep 29, 2025

China launches facial recognition for mobile phone users

New regulation increases concerns that there are not sufficient safeguards in place to protect people’s personal information. China does not have specific laws governing the use of facial recognition technologies

China on Sunday introduced a new rule that requires people to have their faces scanned when registering mobile phone services, as experts and even state media raised concerns there were not sufficient measures in place to safeguard people’s privacy.

Before the introduction of the new requirement, which was announced in September by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, people registering for mobile phone services had to provide only a copy of their identity card.

The ministry said the new measure would help to stem the resale of sim cards and protect people from unknowingly registering for phone services in the event of their identities being stolen.

Many online services and social media in China are tied to mobile phone numbers to ensure users are traceable.

Some people said online that telecom operators had begun insisting on face scans before the official launch.

Some said they hoped the new measures would help reduce telecom fraud and phone scams, while others said it was just another example of the government increasing its surveillance of its citizens.

Some experts said they were concerned that the technology was being implemented without the proper safeguards in place.
Lao Dongyan, a law professor at Tsinghua University, said China did not have an overarching law regulating facial recognition technologies.

“The protection [of personal data] in the criminal law is not enough,” she said at a symposium on facial recognition and privacy protection in Beijing last week.

“For most of the time, we don’t know our data is being collected and the storage and use of data doesn’t follow legal requirements.

“Obtaining people’s personal data needs their consent, according to China’s laws and regulations, but in reality, facial recognition technologies are widely used while the public rarely knows about them.”

Last month, a law professor in east China’s Zhejiang province who bought an annual pass for a wildlife park sued the park authority for breach of contract, after it replaced its fingerprint-based entry system with one that uses facial recognition.
A report by state broadcaster CCTV on Saturday said many apps in China collected people’s facial data without a user agreement.

In one case, more than 5,000 pieces of facial data were sold online for only 10 yuan (US$1.40) each, prompting Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily to issue a commentary saying people should have the right to say no when asked for face scans.
“The misuse of legally collected data may be a bigger threat, but we don’t have regulations on the misuse of data in the criminal law,” Lao said.

But even if there were legislation in place to protect people’s facial data, some legal experts said it still would not prevent the risk of personal information finding its way into the government’s hands.

“Once this technology is used on a large scale, we have nowhere to hide,” said Beijing-based lawyer Wang Xinrui. “The risk of facial recognition technologies is high and far-reaching.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
×