“人脸识别第一案”终审判决动物园败诉
Date: 2021-04-09
A law professor wins lawsuit against a wildlife park for its enforcement of facial-recognition technology on its members.
In April 2019, Guo Bing, an associate professor at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, paid RMB 1,360 for an annual membership card to the Hangzhou Wildlife World. In July and October 2019, the Hangzhou Wildlife World sent two text messages to Guo Bing informing him that entry to the park will be changed from fingerprint identification to facial-recognition technology. Guo Bing did not accept the change, citing that the use of facial-recognition technology was an invasion of personal privacy, and requested the park to refund the card. Negotiations were unsuccessful and on 28 October 2019, Guo Bing filed a lawsuit with the Fuyang District People's Court in Hangzhou. The case was deemed the "first lawsuit against facial recognition" by the media.
On 20 November 2020, the Fuyang Court issued a first instance judgement ordering Wildlife World to compensate Guo Bing for the loss of contractual interests and transportation costs totaling RMB 1,038, and to delete Guo Bing's facial data, including his photo, which was submitted when he applied for the annual membership. Both Guo Bing and Hangzhou Wildlife World appealed to the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court.
On 9 April 2021, the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court ruled that Hangzhou Wildlife World deleted the facial and fingerprint identification data submitted by the plaintiff when he applied for the annual fingerprint card.
The Hangzhou Intermediate Court held that biometric information is sensitive personal information. Its improper use will bring unpredictable risks to people’s personal privacy, and stricter regulations should be made.
Source: http://opinion.people.com.cn/n1/2021/0410/c223228-32074599.html
This article is co-authored by Carol Wang and Sharon Qiao of Lusheng Law Firm
