"Face Recognition Application Public Survey Report (2020)" released
Sixty percent of respondents believe that face recognition technology has a tendency to abuse
Our reporter Fu Lili
On October 13, Xiaomanyao Technology Conference opened in Guangzhou.
In the "Big Data Application and Privacy Protection in the Post-epidemic Era" sub-forum, the Southern Metropolis Daily Artificial Intelligence Ethics Task Force and the App Special Governance Working Group released the "Public Research Report on Facial Recognition Applications (2020)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report ").
The "Report" shows that 60% of the respondents believe that face recognition technology has a tendency to abuse, and 30% of the respondents said they have suffered privacy or property losses due to the leakage or abuse of facial information.
Convenience is recognized but there is a mandatory use problem
In recent years, face recognition technology has shown a trend of accelerating its implementation.
From the construction of smart cities to the login and unlocking of mobile clients, the shadow of face recognition technology can be seen in various scenarios.
The "Report" lists ten types of face recognition scenarios (payment and transfer, account opening, account cancellation, real-name registration, unlocking and decryption, face-changing entertainment, government affairs, traffic security, access control and attendance, campus/online education, and public safety supervision). More than 20,000 questionnaires are designed to understand the use of face recognition and the public's safety feelings.
The improvement in management efficiency brought about by face recognition is the main motivation for the implementation of technologies in various industries, but does the public feel more convenience and safety in actual use?
The research team set up scale questions in the questionnaire. The respondents were asked to score based on their experience. 1 is the lowest score and 5 is the highest score.
The results show that in terms of convenience, there are 9 types of scenes with an average score of more than 4 points, showing the respondents' recognition of the convenience of face recognition.
Among them, the highest score is payment transfer, with an average score of 4.33.
In terms of safety perception, the scores given by the respondents were obviously low. Only the average score of the traffic security check scene exceeded 4 points, reflecting the respondents' worries about the safety risks of face recognition.
In addition, face recognition also has a prominent "mandatory use" problem.
The "Report" found that in the "traffic security check" scene, the respondents who encountered mandatory face recognition were the most, reaching 27.39%, followed by "real name registration" (26.42%), "account opening and cancellation" (25.94%), and "payment and transfer". (25.81%) "Access Control Time Attendance" (21.76%).
Researchers pointed out that in the “strong authentication” scenarios (such as public security, financial payment) that have been clearly required by laws and regulations, it is necessary and reasonable to use face recognition to complete accurate identity comparison and verification; however, For some scenarios that are not clearly stipulated by law (such as access control and attendance), it is not suitable to use face recognition as the only verification method.
The survey shows that compared to face recognition, respondents are more willing to use fingerprints, mobile phone verification codes, passwords and other verification methods.
Some face recognition technology application scenarios cause controversy
The continuous expansion and "blooming everywhere" of the application scenarios of face recognition technology has attracted the attention of the public-64.39% of the respondents believe that face recognition technology has a tendency to abuse.
It is worth noting that more respondents who live in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and provincial capital cities believe that face recognition technology has a tendency to abuse.
This may be related to the popularity of face recognition applications in these areas.
The "Report" summarized six types of controversial scenarios in the application of face recognition technology, and asked the interviewees whether they were acceptable.
The results show that the most unacceptable scenario for respondents is that "some malls will use facial recognition technology to collect customer behavior and purchase methods" (42.68%), followed by "some colleges and universities use facial recognition technology to collect student head-up rates" , Micro expressions, posture in class” (28.36%), and “applications based on face image analysis, such as face changing, beauty makeup, personality judgment, health status prediction, etc.” (19.01%).
Relatively speaking, interviewees are more able to accept face recognition applications based on security scenarios, such as public security cameras and red light recording systems.
More than 30% of the respondents said that they have encountered face information leakage or abuse
Although various governance actions have been continuously launched at the national level, personal information leakage is still impossible to prevent.
Most people have received sales calls from real estate agencies; during the epidemic, there have been many incidents of information leakage of patients and returnees from epidemic areas; some time ago, another celebrity was stolen due to personal information leaks.
Compared with the leakage of personal information such as ID card numbers and mobile phone numbers, there are not many face data leakage incidents that have been exposed to the public's view.
However, the "Report" shows that more than 30% of the interviewees said they have suffered losses or privacy violations due to the leakage and abuse of facial information.
But a positive change is that the public's awareness of privacy protection has increased.
The "Report" shows that as many as 80% of the respondents expressed concern about whether the original face information will be retained by the collector and how it will be processed.
When it comes to the processing rules for facial information, respondents most want to know "what kind of technical and management measures are taken by the collector to ensure the security of the collected facial information" (31.5%), and "whether facial recognition technology is provided by a third party, If so, who is the third party" (26%) and "Which scenes the face information is currently being used in, and whether the purpose of use is changed" (23.16%).
It needs to be emphasized that although respondents still have concerns about face recognition technology, their attitudes are generally positive.
More than 60% (65.24%) of the respondents believe that face recognition "overall advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and risks should still be paid attention to when promoting applications to protect users' right to know and choose".
The "Report" pointed out that face information, as the most sensitive type of "personal biometric information" in personal information, should be the focus of attention and protection.
To further guide the application of face recognition technology through legislation, regulations, standards, etc., will be a wise move to effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of citizens.