China tech firms bypassing privacy concerns to apply facial recognition

China's technology firms are rushing to apply the commercial use of facial recognition technology, bypassing the same privacy concerns that have slowed the roll out of the technology in Western markets, according to a report by The Financial Times. People in China are arguably less concerned about privacy rights violation than in Western countries as they are accustomed to having their faces scanned to conduct daily tasks, such as making payments to access residential blocks, student dormitories and hotels. In addition, Chinese citizens are required to swipe their ID cards into chip readers to activate a mobile phone account, purchase a train ticket or check into a hotel. Ant Financial, the online payments division of ecommerce group Alibaba, allows users to take a selfie to access their online wallets, while China Construction Bank offers a similar service for customers at ATMs. Car-hailing service Didi Chuxing is using the technology to verify drivers' identities, while search engine Baidu has developed facial recognition-enabled entry to access its offices and paid events.