According to the Tianyancha App, on December 3, Shanghai Xiaopeng Automobile Sales service Co., Ltd. was fined 100,000 yuan by the Xuhui District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau and ordered to make corrections. The reasons for punishment/types of illegal acts are: infringing on the personal dignity of consumers, infringing on consumers' personal freedom, or infringing on consumers' rights to have their personal information protected in accordance with law.
According to the administrative penalty decision of the Shanghai Xuhui District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau released by China News Network, in 2019, Xiaopeng Automobile signed the "Framework Contract for the Passenger Flow Monitoring Project of Xiaopeng Automobile Stores" with a company, and the contract stipulated that the parties would purchase the service of the customer flow monitoring project from a company from March 1, 2019. After the parties pay for the company's face recognition camera equipment, they are installed in its stores to collect consumers' facial recognition data. After the data is uploaded, the facial data is identified and calculated by the algorithm to carry out the customer flow statistics and passenger flow analysis of the store, including the statistics of the number of people entering the store, the proportion of men and women, and the age analysis. Xiaopeng Automobile uses software to view passenger flow statistics and analysis results, which are used as a reference in the company's operation.
According to the above-mentioned administrative penalty decision, Xiaopeng Automobile purchased a total of 22 camera equipment with face recognition functions, spending a total of more than 170,000 yuan. The above-mentioned face recognition camera equipment is all installed in its stores, involving 5 directly operated stores and two franchise stores. From January to June 2021, a total of 431623 face photos were collected and uploaded. The parties installed face recognition camera equipment in 7 stores to collect consumers' facial recognition data, and did not explicitly or inform consumers of the purpose of collection and use without obtaining the consent of consumers. As of the time of the case, the parties concerned had dismantled the face recognition camera equipment in the above-mentioned stores, and the uploaded face photos had been deleted by a company. The parties have no illegal gains.
In this regard, the official response of Xiaopeng Automobile said that it fully obeyed the administrative punishment and made a deep reflection on the matter. Xiaopeng Automobile's Shanghai store took the initiative to remove all collection equipment through internal self-inspection and self-correction before the Shanghai Municipal Supervision Bureau inspected on march 18.
Xiaopeng Motors said that the face data was collected and analyzed by a third-party software provider, and the data had been completely deleted. Xiaopeng Motors does not disclose or illegally use personal information, and only uses non-personally related digital data such as passenger flow visits as a reference for business conditions.
The following is the full text of the response:
Dear friends of the media
Thank you for your attention and support to Xiaopeng Motors.
Regarding the recent media report on Weibo that "Xiaopeng Automobile collected 430,000 face photos in 6 months", it caused concern to users, and we apologize for this.
In this incident, the stores in shanghai hoped to improve the reception process and better serve the customers who arrived in the store through the collection and analysis of data such as store customer flow, but due to their unfamiliarity with the relevant legal terms, they mistakenly purchased and used the products of third-party suppliers (Yuluoke) who violated the relevant legal terms.
Xiaopeng Automobile expressed its complete obedience to this administrative punishment and made a deep reflection on the matter.
In view of the following facts, the relevant departments have also given relatively light penalties:
Xiaopeng Automobile's Shanghai store took the initiative to remove all collection equipment through internal self-inspection and self-correction before the Shanghai Municipal Supervision Bureau inspected on march 18.
Face data is collected and analyzed by third-party software providers, and the data has been completely deleted. Xiaopeng Motors does not disclose or illegally use personal information, and only uses non-personally related digital data such as passenger flow visits as a reference for business conditions.
The Municipal Supervision Bureau punished a large number of merchants, all of whom were customers who used third-party software.
Xiaopeng Automobile will strictly abide by the provisions of the state on the protection of consumers' personal information to ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of customers are not infringed. We apologize for the distress caused to the public and our customers as a result of this incident. Integrity and legal operation is the cornerstone of our company has been adhering to, we will standardize business behavior with practical actions, improve customer experience, and provide consumers with safe and thoughtful services.