Facial recognition in China
Facial recognition at the international level: technical and legal aspects

China is one of the countries that has deployed facial recognition on a large scale. The first use of cameras equipped with facial recognition dates back to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This event was a major milestone in the development and legitimization of these systems.

In the following years, facial recognition gradually became widespread in public spaces and in various services, in connection with the "social credit" project.

In 2013, when Xi Jinping came to power, China had around 100 million surveillance cameras. By 2025, this figure is estimated to exceed 700 million, reflecting the expansion of mass surveillance