The southern Chinese province of Guangdong is prohibiting the collection of biometric information from residents.

The ban is due to begin on June 1 through the implementation of the Social Credit Regulation which emphasises the protection of personal information.

The new regulation also prohibits the collection of a person’s religious belief or medical history and requires organisations to inform people when collecting their credit information.

The northern city of Tianjin was the first in China to ban the collection of biometric information, including facial recognition data. Its regulation came into effect on January 1 2021.

Dalian, in the northeastern province of Liaoning, is prohibiting the collection of biometric information from July 1.

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