Ensuring the privacy and safety of passengers! Many places require hotels to cancel "mandatory face brushing"

According to a recent announcement in the Shanghai Hotel Industry Public Security Management Information System, the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau has emphasized the prohibition of "mandatory face brushing" for travelers who have brought ID cards, and has produced a standard "Passenger Accommodation Registration Inquiry Flow Chart", requiring hotels to seek consent from passengers before conducting face verification. A reporter from China City Daily noticed that in addition to Shanghai, many places across the country have also begun to adjust relevant policies.

From the perspective of the industry, with the development of intelligent technologies such as AI, the probability of criminals using face recognition technology to engage in illegal and criminal activities has also increased significantly, and consumer security risks have become more and more prominent. Therefore, it is no longer mandatory for travelers to brush their faces when staying in hotels, which can not only reduce hotel operating costs, but also improve the customer service experience, or further promote the healthy development of the hotel industry and the entire tourism industry.

Improve the efficiency of guest check-in

When checking in at the hotel, in addition to handing over the ID card, the hotel front desk often asks the traveler to point at the camera to "brush his face" before checking in. Today, such regulations have been suspended in many places.

The above-mentioned relevant Shanghai announcement has clearly pointed out that it is strictly forbidden to conduct "compulsory face brushing" verification for passengers who have presented their valid identity documents, it is strictly forbidden to have the problem of not being able to check in without "face brushing", and the consent of the passengers themselves should be clearly obtained for providing convenient verification services for passengers who forget to bring their identity documents.

The staff of the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau previously said in an interview with the media that at present, Shanghai has strictly prohibited "forced face brushing" in hotels in the city, and said that this is a special work deployment that has been carried out since last year, and has recently been reiterated and emphasized.

At this stage, what is the implementation of the new rule that you don't have to "brush your face" when staying in hotels?

"I just came back from a business trip to Shanghai, and I really don't have to 'brush my face' when I check into the hotel, and the front desk only verifies my ID card. Guo Yuting, a white-collar worker in Beijing, told a reporter from China City Daily that she felt that after not "brushing her face", the efficiency of hotel check-in was greatly improved. When she went to Shanghai on a business trip and stayed in the hotel, she happened to meet a group with a tour group in front of her. "Based on experience, I have to wait in line for at least 20 minutes in this situation. But without the 'face brushing' level, it actually only took me about 10 minutes from queuing to completion, which is really a lot faster. Guo Yuting said.

In an interview with a reporter from China City Daily, the relevant person in charge of Huazhu Hotel Group said that its Shanghai hotels are implemented in accordance with relevant regulations, and will take the initiative to ask guests whether they agree to face verification, and will not do mandatory verification.

It is worth noting that many hotels in Shanghai have indicated that travelers can check in directly with their resident ID cards, and if they do not bring their ID cards, electronic ID cards, ID photos, driver's licenses, social security cards, etc. can also be used for check-in.

It is reported that in addition to Shanghai, some cities in Guangdong, Hubei, Jiangsu and other provinces have asked hotels to cancel the "mandatory face brushing".

Comply with the requirements of the rule of law

"In addition to facilitating the check-in of travelers, the cancellation of the hotel's 'face brushing' also protects people's privacy to a certain extent. I'm worried about my privacy being leaked by brushing my face, after all, AI technology is very advanced nowadays, and it would be terrible if criminals used my face to 'swap faces' to commit illegal acts. Guo Yuting said.

In recent years, with the continuous maturity of face recognition technology, its application field has also been expanding, not only hotel check-in requires face recognition, but even some mobile phone apps require face recognition authentication to use after downloading, which has brought trouble to many users.

So, does the hotel's "mandatory face brushing" verification comply with the law?

"Both the Civil Code, the Cybersecurity Law and the Personal Information Protection Law emphasize that the processing of personal information shall follow the principles of legality, legitimacy and necessity, and obtain the consent of natural persons or their guardians, and at the same time require information processors to take necessary security protection measures, follow the principle of minimum necessity, and not collect excessive personal information. Li Sheng, the chief lawyer of Beijing Zhipu Law Firm, said in an interview with China City Daily that the hotel's "mandatory face scanning" verification may be seen as excessive collection or unnecessary processing of personal information, especially if the traveler has already presented a valid ID card. If the hotel is unable to demonstrate that such additional biometric collection is necessary for the purpose of check-in verification, or has not obtained sufficient informed consent from the guest in accordance with the law, or fails to provide adequate security measures, then this practice may not comply with the provisions of the above laws and regulations.

Another legal practitioner said that once personal information is misused or leaked on a large scale, it may also bring major risks to the public interest and even national security.

In Li Sheng's view, there may be legal compliance issues with the "mandatory face brushing" verification of hotels, including administrative regulatory penalties, civil litigation compensation, and reputational damage, while the abolition of "mandatory face brushing" reflects the compliance of cities and business entities with personal information protection laws and regulations, which is conducive to protecting the privacy of tourists. In addition, it is conducive to meeting regulatory trends, increasing consumer trust, and finding a better balance between safety and convenience.

It may promote the development of tourism

In fact, during the two sessions of the National People's Congress this year, Dai Bin, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and president of the China Tourism Academy, suggested restricting the excessive collection of facial recognition technology in tourism scenes.

Dai Bin suggested that the Ministry of Public Security should conduct a comprehensive investigation of the purchase and use of face recognition terminals by forced hotels, resorts, homestays and other tourist accommodation institutions, find out the legal basis for the installation, the department and level required for installation, whether the manufacturer brand is specified, whether it is parallel with the original ID card inspection system, whether it requires synchronous upload of information, etc., and timely guide all localities to cancel the provisions that tourists must "brush their faces" when staying in hotels, and recall relevant software and hardware equipment. At the same time, in view of the increasing prevalence of the installation of face recognition terminals at various tourist traffic entrances and consumption scenarios such as scenic spots and stations, and the increasing number of occasions for mandatory use, it is recommended to further investigate the similar situation in resorts, theme parks and transportation enterprises. "It is necessary to give convenience to tourists to the greatest extent and give the autonomy of operation and management to enterprises to the greatest extent. Dai Bin said.

At present, the "May Day" holiday is approaching, coinciding with more and more hotels in more and more places no longer "mandatory face brushing", this measure may play a certain role in promoting the hotel industry and even the tourism industry. "Hotels that follow the new rules will have an edge in the market because they can meet travelers' demands for privacy and quality of service, which will help them stand out from the competition. Wang Peng, a researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with a reporter from China City Daily that if tourists can feel that their personal privacy is fully protected during travel, the travel experience will be greatly improved. This will help attract more tourists to choose tourism services, which in turn will promote the development of the tourism industry.

"To some extent, this new regulation may reduce the operating costs of hotels. Du Shanchuan, secretary general of the Beijing Tongzhou Tourism Industry Association, analyzed in an interview with a reporter from China City Daily that hotels no longer need to spend a lot of time on face recognition systems, which may provide hotels with more time and resources to focus on more key businesses.

In addition, the abolition of "mandatory face brushing" will help the standardized development of the entire tourism industry. Wang Peng said frankly that when all tourism service providers follow the same regulations, the entire industry will be more orderly and transparent, and the overall image and service level of the tourism industry will also be improved.

■China City Daily reporter Zhang Yaxin