Facial recognition technology used to screen newlyweds in Chinese city
Authorities in Chongqing to start scanning couples in attempt to root out bogus marriages
One of China’s biggest cities has started using facial recognition technology in an effort to root out bogus marriages, local media has reported.
This month the Marriage and Adoption Registration Management Centre in Chongqing will introduce the new technology, Beijing Youth Daily reported.
The newspaper said the authorities hoped it would simplify and shorten the process of registering newly married couples, but would also help to prevent people from registering for marriage under a false name.
The newly weds will have to place their ID cards on a machine, which will then compare their faces with information on a police database.
The new technology can be also used to register marriages between Chinese citizens and foreigners.
The report also said the technology would be able to cope with people who have had plastic surgery.
If the new technology works well, it will be introduced to more marriage registration centres around the municipality in southwest China.
It has also been embraced by the authorities as a means of policing the population.
Last year it was reported that the government wanted to build a database that would identify any one of its 1.3 billion citizens within seconds and could be connected to a network of security cameras.
