Facial Recognition-Thwarting Face Masks Banned In Hong Kong

The protests in Hong Kong have finally entered their month fourth. Carried Lam, the country’s Chief Executive has announced that masks and face paints or any facial covering that can prevent identification have been banned.

In a live-streamed press conference, Lam explained that the introduction of the new ban will help prevent masked violent rioters and protesters. She also added that at the moment, Hong Kong isn’t in “a state of emergency” anymore but in “a location of serious danger.”

There are three reasons as to why the protesters wear face masks. First, they want to avoid being identified by the city’s surveillance systems, some of which take only a few minutes to track down individuals. Second, they don’t want the police forces to identify them on the ground, which allows authorities to track them later. And third, with face masks, protesters will have a shield against teargas, which is a common weapon used by the police.

Eventually, the Hong Kong government has come to using a blue dye to spray protesters, to make it easier to find them later. As the ban is made official, any caught protestor with a mask could receive a sentence of one year in prison and a 3,200 US dollar fine.

The new ban is not likely to work as it only fuels the protesters’ passions. Moreover, there are also citizens, due to the nature of their jobs or sickness, need to wear face masks.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, a police chief inspector said, what if the guy argued that he was wearing a mask since he was having a cold and showed a doctor's certificate. It would require a lot of effort to figure out if his illness is real or not.