Police consider facial recognition technology in expanding surveillance network: Chris Tang

Hong Kong police are conducting research on the future implementation of facial recognition technology, Security Secretary Chris Tang Ping-keung revealed during a Legislative Council security panel meeting on Friday.

This confirmation came as the government will dramatically expand the city's surveillance network, adding over 20,000 cameras annually to reach approximately 60,000 cameras covering the territory by 2028.

The disclosure about the potential future technology emerged when lawmaker Benson Luk Hon-man questioned whether facial recognition capabilities would be integrated into the expanding CCTV system.

"The police are studying the resources required for using this technology, what kind of technology to apply, and the order of priorities," Tang said, emphasizing that such applications represent a future direction. "We will report to the public when we have results."

He clarified that while current AI systems primarily handle crowd control and vehicle license plate recognition in high-traffic areas, the technology would "inevitably be applied to people" going forward, though he noted the present system lacks facial recognition functionality.

Cross-department task force to combat illegal labor

In related developments, lawmakers also questioned the security chief about the newly established cross-departmental task force against illegal workers, which began operations in September.

Tang explained that the dedicated group was created because various departments, including the Immigration Department, Police Force and Labour Department, had previously conducted enforcement actions against illegal workers but lacked a unified platform for intelligence sharing.

"The recent issues involving ride-hailing and food delivery platforms involve different policy bureaus and departments," Tang said, highlighting the need for improved coordination.

He added that the task force would facilitate information exchange and "cooperate to identify enforcement loopholes."

Tang also provided updated enforcement figures, revealing that in the first eight months of this year, authorities conducted approximately 12,000 operations against illegal workers. These operations resulted in prosecutions against more than 750 illegal workers and over 120 employers.

"On the issue of combating illegal workers, targeting employers is equally important," Tang added.