Even Mask-Wearers Can Be ID'd, China Facial Recognition Firm Says

A software engineer works on a facial recognition program that identifies people when they wear a face mask at the development lab of the Chinese electronics manufacturer Hanwang (Hanvon) Technology in Beijing, China as the country is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), on March 6, 2020. Thomas Peter/Reuters

BEIJING—A Chinese company says it has developed the country’s first facial recognition technology that can identify people when they are wearing a mask, as most are these days because of the coronavirus.

China employs some of the world’s most sophisticated systems of electronic surveillance, including facial recognition.