Must "scan face" to go home, where does the property management get the right?

[2] Compiled from: Ningbo Zhenhai District People's Court, Zhejiang Tianping
 
"What's the point of installing 'facial recognition' on a perfectly good building entrance? My privacy is gone. I'm going to sue the property management company!"
 
Case review
The plaintiff, Yu Moumou, is a resident of a residential community in Zhenhai District. The community originally had no access control system for its building units, but a “facial recognition” door entry system was installed earlier this year. As a resident, Yu Moumou had his facial feature information collected by the property management. In July, Yu Moumou filed a lawsuit against the property management company with the court, arguing that the use of “facial recognition” technology poses risks to the security of personal information. He requested that the property management delete his facial feature information from the facial recognition system, ensure the safe and unobstructed passage of the building unit exits, and provide him with alternative means of free entry and exit.

 
 

[5] During the trial, the property management agreed to delete Yu's facial recognition information and provided evidence that the community could also be accessed via access cards. Additionally, apart from the plaintiff himself, the other three members of his household had already received access cards.
 
During the trial, Yu expressed agreement with the property's above opinions and revealed his true thoughts: he was unwilling to use facial recognition or swipe cards, believing the unit's access control system restricted his freedom. He demanded that the unit door be left open as before for free entry and exit. In response to Yu's thoughts, the presiding judge advised him in court: no freedom is absolute; freedom is limited, and exercising personal freedom must not harm the interests of others. Leaving the unit door open would create safety hazards and potentially infringe on the rights of other unit residents. If Yu insisted on removing the unit's access control, unanimous consent from all residents would be required.
 
The Zhenhai District Court ruled in court: the property company must delete Yu's collected facial feature information within five days of the judgment taking effect; Yu's other claims were dismissed.
 
 
Civil Code of the People's Republic of China
Article 111 
The personal information of natural persons is protected by law. Any organization or individual that needs to obtain others' personal information must acquire it lawfully and ensure information security, and must not illegally collect, use, process, or transmit others' personal information, nor illegally buy, sell, provide, or disclose others' personal information.
 
Article 1034
Personal information refers to various information recorded electronically or by other means that can identify a specific natural person alone or in combination with other information, including the natural person's name, date of birth, ID number, biometric information, address, phone number, email address, health information, and location information.
Private information in personal information is subject to the provisions on the right to privacy; where there are no such provisions, it is subject to the provisions on the protection of personal information.
 
 
Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Civil Cases Related to the Processing of Personal Information Using Facial Recognition Technology
Article 10   
Where a property service enterprise or other building manager uses facial recognition as the sole method for verifying the entry and exit of owners or property users in the property service area, and an owner or property user who disagrees requests the provision of other reasonable verification methods, the people's court shall support such a request in accordance with the law.
Where a property service enterprise or other building manager falls under the circumstances specified in Article 2 of these Provisions, and a party requests that the property service enterprise or other building manager bear tort liability, the people's court shall support such a request in accordance with the law.
 
 
[1] The author's perspective
With the advancement of modern technology, facial recognition and fingerprint unlocking have become deeply integrated into people's daily lives. From mobile payments to access control, what appears to be convenient and intelligent actually harbors many security risks. Once this personal information is collected, without proper management systems in place, it is highly likely to result in user data leaks, which could be exploited by criminals for illegal activities—such as forging someone's identity documents to apply for bank loans, or using facial data to steal deposits from their accounts. Whether viewed from the perspective of personal safety or property security, personal facial information is by no means a simple “access card.”
 
It is precisely for this reason that China's legislative efforts on personal information protection have been continuously improving in recent years. From the Civil Code to the Personal Information Protection Law, the norms for the collection, processing, storage, and transmission of personal information have been progressively refined. This also serves as a reminder to major data processing companies and daily-use entities that while leveraging the convenience of high technology, they must also pay attention to laws and regulations, ensuring they do not inadvertently infringe upon the legal rights of others.