Can’t function without passengers’ consent
In order to allow a passenger to pass, a facial recognition system must collect the passenger’s biological information, mainly images first and compare them with those stored in its memory. The law says a citizen’s photograph (or set of images) should not be collected for commercial use without his/her consent. And since Beijing metro is a commercial company, it may face legal risks using a facial recognition system without the passengers’ consent.
To avoid such legal risks, Beijing metro should take some measures before collecting the information of passengers. First, it must draft rules and take strict inner-control measures to ensure the collected facial images are only for ticketing use, that is, for public convenience, and will never be used for other commercial purposes, such as advertisements.
Second, since Beijing metro will be responsible for the safekeeping of the collected facial images, it must take necessary measures to make sure not even a single one is leaked or sold to any third party without the passenger’s consent.
Third, the subway company should persuade each passenger to sign a written or electronic contract before he/she joins the facial recognition system, so that it is not sued in court later for breach of privacy. For those who refuse to sign the contract, a passage should be kept open so they can enter and exit a station by swiping their card.
Advanced technologies are welcome to be used in public facilities such as subway stations, but people’s rights must be respected, at least to avoid legal risks.