“We are still in the preparation phase, but we will not rule out the possibility [of using facial recognition] as technological advancements can definitely help us be more effective in law enforcement and other areas,” he stated.

“Citizens do not have to worry. Police will make use of these technologies to combat crimes, but we will do so lawfully.”

Siu added that authorities had been nonetheless within the early phases of figuring out the circumstances the place know-how could be used, reminiscent of monitoring suspects, and didn’t rule out utilizing the knowledge for circumstances involving nationwide safety.

He stated the federal government had not determined how lengthy surveillance footage could be saved and that the town would have a look at operational procedures utilized in different jurisdictions.

Siu argued that the set up of solely 2,000 CCTV cameras was not sufficient for a densely populated metropolis reminiscent of Hong Kong.

He in contrast the town with Britain, which began putting in surveillance cameras within the Nineties and now has greater than 7.3 million of them across the nation, and Singapore, which has 90,000.

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“This is only the first phase,” Siu stated. “We believe, in the future, there will be more than 2,000 cameras.

“We find that there is definitely a need to use this for increasing the level of safety and combating crimes.

“The use of surveillance cameras has been proven to be highly effective in maintaining security in other countries.”

He promised that the brand new cameras would solely cowl public areas and that the federal government would seek the advice of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data concerning the safety of knowledge.

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Lawmaker Doreen Kong Yuk-foon stated using synthetic intelligence (AI) in legislation enforcement was solely a matter of time.

“Facial recognition technology is used in many countries so we should not rule it out completely, and the use of such an innovation is unavoidable if we are talking about surveillance cameras,” she stated.

“Most importantly, the government needs clear guidelines on the purpose, usage and storage duration of the data collected, while improving its data security systems. The risk in Hong Kong is that there is no legislation on the use of these AI technologies.”

She added that different international locations had began to draft legal guidelines governing using AI and Hong Kong ought to comply with swimsuit shortly.

“This can reassure the public about its usage and also tell innovators what is allowed and what is not, so they have guidance on how they should develop this technology.”

Francis Fong Po-kiu, honorary president of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, stated authorities ought to encrypt all footage collected to stop unauthorised entry and minimise the chance of information leakage by hacking.

A committee ought to periodically evaluation whether or not the footage be saved or deleted, Fong stated, including that the majority international locations saved surveillance information for between 30 days and three months until there have been felony investigations or courtroom orders.

He urged the federal government comply with the privateness watchdog’s tips on CCTV and drone utilization, which states that private data collected by the system must be deleted as quickly as practicable when the aim of the surveillance is accomplished.

Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk Wing-hing first revealed the federal government’s plan to put in 2,000 CCTV cameras in densely populated elements of the town and high-crime areas final month.

The home laws will work alongside the 2020 Beijing-imposed nationwide safety legislation designed to penalise acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with international forces.