Cases of misuse of facial recognition data are common around the world
Text/Shanshan Xu
The era of artificial intelligence is coming. While people enjoy the fruits of wisdom, they also bear the unpredictable risks brought about by this advanced technology, such as the leakage of personal information caused by face recognition, and even more serious security risks.
Recently, Xiaopeng Automobile, the representative of the new car-making force, has been involved in a similar whirlpool of controversy. On December 3, Shanghai Xiaopeng Automobile Sales service Co., Ltd. was fined 100,000 yuan by the Shanghai Xuhui District Market Supervision Bureau for illegally collecting and uploading 431623 face photos from a third-party company for purchasing 22 face recognition cameras from a third-party company.
Sky Eye check screenshots
According to the administrative penalty decision, the parties used the algorithm developed by the third-party company to identify and calculate the facial data, so as 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. It is reported that the parties installed face recognition camera equipment in 7 of their stores to collect consumer facial recognition data, and without the consent of consumers, they did not explicitly or inform consumers of the purpose of collection and use.
"Third Party Companies"
In the above penalty letter, "third-party company" is mentioned several times. Although it was not disclosed who it was, there was information that the camera equipment supplier was actually Yolok.
According to the information of Tianyancha, Youluoke is a leading artificial intelligence service provider for new retail stores in China, providing intelligent management and data analysis services for the new stores that integrate people, money and things. According to the company's official website, the cumulative number of signed stores has reached 1.656 million so far.
Screenshot from the official website of Y-Rook
In this case, the facial data of the sales store of Xiaopeng Automobile involved will be uploaded to the back-end system of Yoyoke, which will then conduct statistics and analysis for the former's operation.
Xiaopeng Automobile apologized for this, claiming that "the original intention of the store involved was to improve the reception process and better serve the customers who arrived at the store through the collection and analysis of data such as the store's customer flow", and said that it had dismantled the relevant face recognition camera equipment and deleted the uploaded face photos.
However, the resulting controversy has not diminished.
Image source: CCTV
On the one hand, Yoroko is already a regular customer in the illegal collection of face information. The company was publicly named by CCTV's "3.15" evening party. The next day after the incident, Yoyo published a statement on its official Weibo that a special working group had been set up and would carry out self-examination.
A sincere apology letter has become a means and a standard for the company involved to appease public anger. But the facts are in front of us, and the smooth road of fame and fortune of the "habitual criminal" of Yoroker will lead to is full of unknowns.
On the other hand, the behavior of Xiaopeng Automobile's sales store has once again raised concerns about privacy leaks.
Public information shows that the company involved is indirectly held by Guangdong Xiaopeng Automobile Technology Co., Ltd.
In 2019, Xiaopeng Automobile officially launched a new retail plan, adopting an online and offline multi-channel layout of 2S (experience/sales) + 2S (delivery/service) + super charging, and realizing a sales model that combines direct operation + authorization. This new retail model has received a positive response on the market side, but it seems to be beginning to show problems at present.
"100,000 less than a lot"
In this case, in addition to the weight of responsibility, there is another element worth paying attention to: fines. Is 100,000 more or less?
Image source: Network
Based on the number of 430,000 facial photos, collecting facial information about a face is fined about 0.23 yuan. Such a calculation method is obviously not objective, but the leakage of user information has become an established fact, and how to make consumers completely put aside their worries will be the first consideration of legislation.
In fact, cases of misuse of facial recognition data are not uncommon around the world.
In the real estate field, the use of face recognition to analyze user portraits to achieve accurate price increase is a "unspoken rule" in the industry.
Qianjiang Evening News once published a commentary article titled "Abuse of Face Recognition, Heavy Penalties Can Deter" in response to the Ningbo government's special law enforcement action on face recognition in the real estate field. The article points out that only when the scope of supervision is comprehensive and the penalties are decisive and strong, can the phenomenon of privacy violations be truly curbed.
In the case of American social networking media meta (formerly Facebook), the company has been subject to a class-action lawsuit against users for using facial recognition technology in Illinois. Meta is known to take facial data from photos of millions of users in the state for labeling suggestions.
Last November, the class-action lawsuit ended with Meta agreeing to pay $650 million. Under the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act, every photo that is automatically identified by Meta without permission is likely to receive $1,000 to $5,000 in compensation.
In contrast, the 100,000 yuan fine imposed on Xiaopeng stores is indeed less.
Nowadays, face recognition technology has penetrated into all aspects of social life. Whether it's identity confirmation or payment checkout, it only takes a few seconds for the face to be swept away, and it can be easily completed. It is no exaggeration to say that with the advent of the era of the Internet of Everything, "the face is swept away, and the information is all there.".
How can consumers assert their rights?
On April 9, 2021, the final judgment of the "first face recognition case" in China was finally decided, and the defendant Hangzhou Wildlife World lost the case. People's Daily commented that the results of the trial showed that "we can bravely say 'no' to face recognition." But apparently, people are waiting for the relevant bills to be introduced. After all, one person's power is really limited.