Hong Kong to increase the number of facial recognition cameras

Hong Kong is following in the footsteps of Mainland China by introducing facial recognition to its rising number of CCTV cameras, the city’s security secretary confirmed last week.

AI analytics will be used to monitor crowds and license plates, while the technology will also be “applied to people, such as tracking a criminal suspect”, security chief Chris Tang told lawmakers, without specifying a timeline.

According to media reports from July, real-time facial recognition could be introduced to CCTVs in the financial hub as early as the end of this year.

Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog declined to say whether it had been consulted on the surveillance camera expansion project, AFP News reports. The Special Administrative Region already has 4,000 CCTV cameras installed for crime-fighting, and is planning to increase this number to 60,000 by 2028.

The city has also been boosting its surveillance amid a years-long national security crackdown, which started after the 2019 pro-democracy protests. More than 10,000 people have been arrested for their participation in the demonstrations, kicked off by an attempt to introduce a bill that would allow the extradition of people from Hong Kong to China.

The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) claims that the SmartView CCTV camera program is necessary for safeguarding national security and preventing crimes.

The force has been expanding the system to a mobile surveillance camera program. From the end of July, 60 patrol cars would be able to identify vehicles and licence plates, according to Senior Superintendent Eric Leung Ming-leung.

“We will see if it’s possible to use facial recognition in our SmartView systems by the end of this year,” Leung said in July.

The HKPF is also planning to boost surveillance by connecting the metro system’s cameras to China’s Sharp Eyes surveillance project in phases this year. Aside from the MTR system, cameras from the Transport Department, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Housing Department will also be integrated, bringing over 20,000 cameras into the network.

Despite the expansion of surveillance and the use of AI, the Hong Kong police have not been subject to effective oversight by independent watchdogs, while the city lacks clear rules on AI use by law enforcement agencies. This brings the question of police abuse of power, Senior Fellow at the Georgetown Center for Asian Law Eric Lai told AFP.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  cctv  |  facial recognition  |  Hong Kong  |  real-time biometrics  |  video analytics  |  video surveillance