Compulsory use of bioinformation prohibited in east China city

HANGZHOU -- The eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province has issued a regulation stipulating that the gathering of bioinformation like fingerprints and facial recognition data shall not be required to enter residential communities.

As bioinformation technology has become increasingly widespread in China, many residential communities have installed intelligent facial recognition systems at entrances.

While the move brings convenience to community residents and improves the efficiency of property management, it has also triggered concerns about the security of personal bioinformation.

On Oct 1, China released a new version of the national standards on personal information protection, requiring that prior to the collection of personal bioinformation, the individual whose personal information is being collected should be separately notified of the purpose, method, and use as well as the collection scope and storage time.