Hong Kong Uses AI for Facial Recognition Surveillance... Tracks Suspects Even in Masks

Police: "For safeguarding national security and public safety"
Concerns also raised over violations of privacy and human rights.

Hong Kong police will begin full-scale operations on the 16th, applying artificial intelligence (AI)-powered facial recognition technology to its smart surveillance camera network.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on November 15, Hong Kong Police Commissioner Zhou Yiming said the previous day that AI-powered facial recognition technology would be fully introduced across the smart surveillance network.

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Commissioner Zhou said the technology can identify criminal suspects even if they wear masks or use other methods to avoid identification. He also stressed that introducing facial recognition technology would have a deterrent effect by making people planning to commit crimes reconsider the consequences.

"No matter what methods you use, if you commit a crime, we are capable of actually arresting you," he said. "I believe the use of facial recognition technology is a safeguard that protects law-abiding citizens and a means of monitoring people planning to commit crimes."

The introduction of this facial recognition technology is part of the Hong Kong Police's "SmartView" project. The police launched the project in 2024 and plan to install 60,000 surveillance cameras across Hong Kong by 2028. More than 10,000 cameras have been installed to date.

The project's core purpose goes beyond simply increasing the number of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras. It aims to build a system that combines AI facial recognition with footage from existing surveillance cameras to automatically identify specific individuals and track their movements. Police expect the system to help them locate missing persons more quickly, as well as criminal suspects.

Hong Kong police said the facial recognition system cannot be used without limits. Searches using the system require approval from an inspector or a higher-ranking officer. Searches are also restricted to three purposes: safeguarding national security; preventing, investigating, and detecting crime; and ensuring public safety. While ordinary CCTV footage is retained for no more than 31 days, taking operational needs and storage costs into account, data generated through the facial recognition feature will be retained for up to 180 days. Police explained that "facial recognition data takes up less storage space than the original video footage, so it can be kept for longer."

However, the expansion of the facial recognition surveillance network has also raised concerns about violations of privacy and personal information. Critics say the scope of surveillance could become excessive, particularly because the system can compare an individual's face against a database to track their past movements and determine their location in real time. Concerns about human rights violations linked to the system have also emerged, given the extensive crackdowns on anti-government protesters in Hong Kong in the past.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.