Next time you go through a red light in China its growing facial recognition network may catch you out

The facial recognition technology checks the faces of drivers and vehicle details against a database, helping to verify the identity of wrongdoers much more quickly and improving the accuracy of traffic violation management, said Sun. — SCMP

China’s traffic police are pushing ahead with a nationwide network of facial recognition surveillance cameras to deal with rule violations despite rising global anxiety over the new technology’s impact on privacy.

The central police authority announced on Aug 14 that its platform successfully identified 126,000 suspect vehicles without a valid licence last year, for example. They now want to widen the network so that information on suspicious traffic activity can be shared with other cities and provinces.