Masked facial recognition data is now being sold online in China
The illegal sale of facial recognition data in China is nothing new, but now there’s a new twist: Facial images with masks are selling online. Now that AI can recognize masked faces, some of those images are being leaked and sold online for as little as 0.05 yuan (US$0.007) per image, according to a report by state-run China News Service.
Sellers told the news outlet that the masked facial images are crawled from public websites and gathered from social media. Some of the images are even from scans of people entering their office buildings or residential neighborhoods, although it’s not clear how these were gathered. One vendor reportedly sells a database of about 20,000 such images for 1,000 yuan (US$140).
The coronavirus outbreak has resulted in people wearing masks everywhere they go, thwarting facial recognition systems early on before pushing companies to adapt. By mapping more key points and gathering more accurate information from a person’s eyes and nose, some AI companies were able to overcome the challenge. There’s even a hack to get Apple’s Face ID to work with masks.
After Twitter shut down what it calls a Beijing-backed disinformation operation by banning more than 170,000 accounts, China has responded with a piece of curious advice.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters during a briefing on Friday that Twitter should shut down accounts that smear China if it wants to fight disinformation, Reuters reported. Hua said that many platforms had falsehoods about China and that there was a need for Chinese voices with objective views. But China itself is blocking Chinese voices from reaching Twitter: The platform is blocked inside the country.
On Thursday, Twitter removed state-linked accounts from China, Russia and Turkey for violating their platform manipulation policies. The company said the accounts spread “narratives favorable to the Communist Party of China” and pushed “deceptive narratives about the political dynamics in Hong Kong” where tensions have once again flared up over the new National Security Law.
This is not the first time Twitter has moved against Chinese state-backed operations on its platform. Last year in August, the platform removed over 900 accounts, which were part of a larger 200,000-strong army involved in a “coordinated state-backed operation” to allegedly sow political discord in Hong Kong.
The arcades aren't as big of a draw as they used to be. But if you miss the retro feel of joysticks and big round buttons, the Switch Fighter might help.
The accessory, which transforms a regular Nintendo Switch into a mini arcade cabinet, is seeking funding on Indiegogo. For US$99, the Hong Kong-based campaign promises to ship backers the Bluetooth-connected gadget, allowing them to “properly play classics like Street Fighter or King of Fighters.” It also serves as a dock for charging and TV output, according to the project page.
There’s a lot of caveats here: The project has a flexible goal, which means it’ll collect all contributions regardless of whether their funding target is reached. Also, Nintendo has previously warned users not to buy a third-party dock for their Switch.