Letters | China’s biggest challenge in adopting facial recognition technology — using it with restraint

I am writing in response to the report “Next time you go through a red light in China its growing facial recognition network may catch you out” (August 15).

Facial recognition technology has been widely adopted in China, from airport security, crime prevention and traffic control, to garbage sorting. The technology not only assists law enforcement officers and other authorities but also motivates people to behave well, promoting good civic habits.

Beijing would like to expand this technology to every aspect of daily life, aspiring to build an “omniscient” surveillance network by 2020. The other side of the coin, however, is that once surveillance cameras become ubiquitous, citizens will have no privacy.

Many countries have taken a more cautious stance on facial recognition technology. For example, Oakland in California banned the technology.