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I saw no spicy comment here, so let me add my: > a time-sensitive facial recognition ... linked with big data from the central public security system ... "We w

by nirui 5y ago

I saw no spicy comment here, so let me add my: > a time-sensitive facial recognition ... linked with big data from the central public security system ... "We will conduct a face screening for accounts registered with real names and that have played for a certain period of time at night" ... Facial recognition is a welcome sign So here is the image in my head: A man, Mr Zhao, 35 years old, just finished showering, half naked, lying on his bed, playing a Tencent game before sleep. Then, all of a sudden, a pop up showed up, "To protect the flowers of our bright future, please verify you are you, Mr Zhao". Now, think what Mr Zhao would do? Get all dressed up, lights on and fully prepared for the "Verification Interview" with the AI (and maybe a night shift worker at Tencent too)? Nah... Probably not. Hahaha! Poor Mr Zhao, been forced to take a "bed photo", right? Well, it's funny to think until you realized a 8 years old could also lying on his bed a play Tencent game on parents phone before sleep. And what Tencent want to do? Capture optical data and possibly send it to multiple storage and processing sites over the Internet? Yeah, great idea, way to go boy! My final point: I use few Tencent products and I know a lots of smart engineers in Tencent. But been their user, I often just can't understand how can they design their product so wrong. This facial recognition powered "Child Predator" can be an example of that -- High tech? Yes; Very wrong? Yes. Could Tencent please put their talents to good use instead of build something brain-dead like this one?

alisonkisk 5y ago
Are you saying 8 yr olds play games with the camera pointed at their penis? A headshot of a topless child is not scandalous. There are issues here, but this isn't it.
- sidlls 5y ago
  You think a military dictatorship like China isn't going to (mis)use such images to help maintain control? I'd recommend reading some 1984. China is a genocidal, military dictatorship. I wouldn't be surprised if they force a hot war out of the cold one currently brewing.
- nirui 5y ago
  Problem is, you have no idea what people, not just kid would accidentally point their camera at. And you couple that with lay down position and a touch screen. No need to mention capture imagery of a child (which the system would totally do, and kids will give it a try believe or not) without consent from their parent alone is problematic regardless it's accidental or not. And above all, that system is useless to begin with. Think about following questions: 1) When do you verify? Before, during or after the game? 2) Do you have to verify at the spot at night? 3) How often do you re-verify? BTW, there is an anti game addiction system already in place in China, which is based on photo ID (Resident ID card) verification. In my opinion, the system is doing well enough already even for today's kids. If Tencent really care the addiction that much, maybe they should just shutdown the game server during the night.
- godelski 5y ago
  Cameras capture more than heads. A topless child very well can be scandalous, especially if they are female. And it is only going to capture the head if the person is sitting in a normal position in front of their computer. If it scans outside of that setting, then you can capture their whole room. You're assuming that the system works perfectly. You're on Hacker News! We have articles every day of major companies being hacked and/or having systems not work as expected and failing in grandiose ways. Now add minors into that situation. Pictures on minors. If that doesn't make you feel uncomfortable then I'm uncomfortable. Putting more cameras in kids rooms are not doing anything to protect them (especially when those cameras are connected to the internet). It just makes child exploitation easier.
helen___keller 5y ago
Couldn't this argument be made for literally any online service that involves a camera?
- nirui 5y ago
  Only if that online service uses something called "time-sensitive facial recognition" to capture photo of a person during the most private time of a day. And given how currently the facial recognition system works, it'll probably ask you to look up, look down and blink all while it records your move. That's a lot of things to be captured.
  - helen___keller 5y ago
    seems like a stretch, sorry
godelski 5y ago
I'm surprised this is not up higher. The potential for child exploitation is huge. Responses to your comment also presume all gamers are boys (pedos still love boys too). But it doesn't even have to happen in the verification stage. Think of how many times Alexa and Home misregister wake words. If that happens here you can catch people dressing. So all that needs to happen is: Tencent gets hacked, Tencent accidentally collects inappropriate images ''of minors,, or the proliferation of cameras sets up a nice target for hackers. The likelihood of any of these events happening isn't low. You want kids to be safe? Don't put cameras in their rooms. And especially don't connect those cameras to the internet. I really hope people have hardware switches.

by nirui 5y ago

alisonkisk 5y ago

Are you saying 8 yr olds play games with the camera pointed at their penis? A headshot of a topless child is not scandalous. There are issues here, but this isn't it.

sidlls 5y ago
You think a military dictatorship like China isn't going to (mis)use such images to help maintain control? I'd recommend reading some 1984. China is a genocidal, military dictatorship. I wouldn't be surprised if they force a hot war out of the cold one currently brewing.
nirui 5y ago
Problem is, you have no idea what people, not just kid would accidentally point their camera at. And you couple that with lay down position and a touch screen. No need to mention capture imagery of a child (which the system would totally do, and kids will give it a try believe or not) without consent from their parent alone is problematic regardless it's accidental or not. And above all, that system is useless to begin with. Think about following questions: 1) When do you verify? Before, during or after the game? 2) Do you have to verify at the spot at night? 3) How often do you re-verify? BTW, there is an anti game addiction system already in place in China, which is based on photo ID (Resident ID card) verification. In my opinion, the system is doing well enough already even for today's kids. If Tencent really care the addiction that much, maybe they should just shutdown the game server during the night.
godelski 5y ago
Cameras capture more than heads. A topless child very well can be scandalous, especially if they are female. And it is only going to capture the head if the person is sitting in a normal position in front of their computer. If it scans outside of that setting, then you can capture their whole room. You're assuming that the system works perfectly. You're on Hacker News! We have articles every day of major companies being hacked and/or having systems not work as expected and failing in grandiose ways. Now add minors into that situation. Pictures on minors. If that doesn't make you feel uncomfortable then I'm uncomfortable. Putting more cameras in kids rooms are not doing anything to protect them (especially when those cameras are connected to the internet). It just makes child exploitation easier.

helen___keller 5y ago

Couldn't this argument be made for literally any online service that involves a camera?

nirui 5y ago
Only if that online service uses something called "time-sensitive facial recognition" to capture photo of a person during the most private time of a day. And given how currently the facial recognition system works, it'll probably ask you to look up, look down and blink all while it records your move. That's a lot of things to be captured.
- helen___keller 5y ago
  seems like a stretch, sorry

godelski 5y ago

I'm surprised this is not up higher. The potential for child exploitation is huge. Responses to your comment also presume all gamers are boys (pedos still love boys too). But it doesn't even have to happen in the verification stage. Think of how many times Alexa and Home misregister wake words. If that happens here you can catch people dressing. So all that needs to happen is: Tencent gets hacked, Tencent accidentally collects inappropriate images ''of minors,, or the proliferation of cameras sets up a nice target for hackers. The likelihood of any of these events happening isn't low. You want kids to be safe? Don't put cameras in their rooms. And especially don't connect those cameras to the internet. I really hope people have hardware switches.