94-Year-Old Grandmother Lifted for 'Facial Recognition'... "At This Rate, They'll Target the Elderly" Flood of Criticism

On the 24th, a video and photos circulated on Weibo (China's Twitter) showing a 94-year-old Chinese grandmother struggling to complete facial recognition procedures after being lifted up by someone while visiting a bank to open a social security card account. This has led to criticism. Photo by Global Times

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] In China, which has rapidly entered a digital society, a 94-year-old elderly woman being lifted onto a facial recognition device to verify her identity has sparked criticism within the country.

On the 24th, videos and photos circulated on Weibo (China's Twitter) showing a 94-year-old grandmother from Hubei Province visiting a bank to open a social security card account, where she was lifted by someone and struggled to complete the facial recognition process.

The photos captured the grandmother, who appeared to have difficulty moving, bending her knees while being held by her son as she underwent facial recognition.

The elderly woman was unable to bring her face close enough to the bank’s facial recognition device by herself.

With her son's help, she barely managed to complete the financial transaction, but it was reported that the bank staff present did not take any special measures and simply directed her to another counter.

After the photos and videos of the incident spread, Chinese netizens criticized, saying, "At this rate, they will catch the grandmother," "Couldn't they have given the grandmother a chair?" and "Couldn't they have arranged for the process to be handled in a separate space?"

Following the controversy, the bank employees visited the elderly woman’s home to apologize and promised to rectify the situation.