Beijing leverages face and voice recognition to launch internet court

Beijing is using facial and speech recognition to operate an “internet court,” which allows plaintiffs and defendants to participate through computers or mobile devices, while juries and other parties are connected by screens, The Market Insights reports.

The court, situated in the Fengtai district, primarily deals with disputes over internet services such as online loans and shopping agreements, and intellectual property cases.

The identity of each individual involved in the case is verified by matching a facial image against the national ID system, and the court also uses electronic signatures. The court also provides AI risk assessment tools, and can automatically generate legal documents with machine translation and voice interaction.

There were more than 45,000 court cases involving online disputes in Beijing in 2017, and with trial lengths reportedly 50 percent lower, the internet court may help the system get through the growing volume of cases. China’s first internet court was opened in Hangzhou in 2017, and state media outlet Xinhua reports that a third will open in Guangzhou this month.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  China  |  facial recognition  |  identity verification  |  legal  |  voice recognition