China’s new data privacy law ‘will state how facial recognition can be used’

Personal Information Protection Law will allow use of sensitive information only for specific purposes and when ‘sufficiently necessary’, legislative body says. Draft text released for public consultation suggests sensitive information will include ethnicity, religion, facial biometrics and medical health. — SCMP

China’s new law on data privacy will include provisions to protect personal biometric information, amid growing concerns in the country over the prolific use of facial recognition technology.

Yue Zhongming, spokesman for the Legislative Affairs Commission of China’s legislature, said on Monday morning that the proposed Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) will make clear that sensitive information such as facial biometrics must be “used for specific purposes and only when sufficiently necessary”, and that a risk assessment should be conducted in advance.