City in China introduces facial recognition tech for marriage registration

Chongqing city in southwest China has introduced facial recognition technology for marriage registration, in a bid to simplify the procedure and make it less time-consuming.

The Marriage, Adoption Registration Management Centre of Chongqing said the new system has been launched in January.

Marriage registration between Chinese citizens and foreigners can also use the system, it said.

Based on Chinese law, the registrars must check a person's identity and household registration certificates before awarding them a marriage certificate.

The facial recognition technology can not only shorten the examination time, but also improve its accuracy. It can quickly take a photo and compare the face with information from other documents and the database of the public security bureau, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The quickest time to complete an examination is just 0.3 second, which otherwise would be around 10 minutes, it added.

The new system can also deal with cases in which applicants have had plastic surgery or for twins who can be differentiated via fingerprints, which was difficult for previous artificial recognition systems.
It would be an efficient way to crack down on crimes in which suspects try to use the identities of others to obtain marriage certificates, the report stated.