TaiwanPublic sector2011 – ongoingTaiwan National Police Agency
Mobile facial matching through M-Police
Taiwan suspended mobile police facial matching in 2021 while desktop matching remained available
Problem
Police used mobile facial matching to identify people during field work, including finding the identities of lost older people and checking suspected fugitives. The system compared photographs with national identity-card images.
Approach
The Taiwan Association for Human Rights dated the facial-recognition rollout to 2011-2012 and identified NEC as its supplier. Following privacy concerns about access to identity-card photographs and reported misuse by officers, the agency suspended the mobile feature on November 30, 2021. Desktop matching remained available through designated police units. In May 2022, the agency said it had revised its management rules and submitted them to the National Development Council, while restoration of the mobile feature remained unresolved.
Results
No published figures
Takeaway
The suspension restricted where officers could access facial matching while retaining a desktop route. The reported misuse and review concerned access rules and personal data, rather than a documented failure of matching accuracy.
Categories
- Size
- Large enterprise
- Industry
- Public sector
- Business function
- Production and quality
- Innovation type
- Process innovation
- AI technology
- Computer vision
- Adoption
- Vendor solution
- Evidence
- Press reporting
Sources
Source summaries
The association distinguished the earlier M-Police platform from facial recognition introduced in 2011-2012. It described linkage to identity-card photographs and identified NEC as the facial-recognition supplier.
CTS reported suspension pending revisions to the rules. It described an incident in which officers reportedly used the system to investigate a woman's age for a private bet.
TVBS dated the mobile suspension to November 30, 2021, and reported that desktop matching continued through police units. It carried the agency's statement that revised rules had been submitted for review and described officers' complaints about the slower workflow.
Full details are in the original sources.
