A man put on a silicone face mask, disguised himself as an old man, sneaked into the homes of four residents, and stole more than 100,000 yuan in property. After receiving a report from a resident, the Shanghai Minhang police acted quickly and arrested the suspect Tong in other provinces and cities the next day and recovered all the stolen goods.
According to public information, silicone face masks are made of special silicone or similar materials, and are usually used in films, TV series or stage play makeup. Police in many places have reminded that using silicone face masks to disguise as new faces to commit crimes is becoming a new method for some criminals to commit crimes.
Where did these silicone face masks come from? What are the legal risks involved in the production and sale of silicone face masks? And how should it be regulated and regulated? The reporter of "Rule of Law Daily" recently conducted an investigation and interview on this.
It is available in several online stores
Claims to be highly reductive
The reporter searched on multiple e-commerce platforms with "human skin mask" as the keyword and found that the word had been blocked by the system, showing "no related goods found". However, if you change the keywords such as "silicone mask", you can see many merchants, and the products sold include "mask adult full-face silicone headgear", "easy-to-face real person face-changing human skin mask", "elderly silicone mask face full face", etc., with prices ranging from a few yuan to tens of thousands of yuan.
These silicone face mask products are not only varied, but also come in a variety of designs. Some businesses have launched celebrity face simulation masks, claiming that they can highly restore the facial features of celebrities with realistic effects; Some merchants offer existing model headgear, which can cost up to 3,000 yuan; There are also merchants who claim to be able to provide masks, headgear "private customization" services, the core selling point is "ultra-realistic" and "simulation customization", the price is determined according to the complexity and fineness of the mask, about 3,000 yuan to 25,000 yuan, from the order to the completion of about 1 month.
When asked what information needs to be provided for the customized service, one merchant responded: "If you can find a 3D scan, you can send us the size of the CT scan." If not, provide a photo, head, facial features, and a 360-degree face photo. ”
This means that customers only need to provide photos, or 3D scanning technology to obtain face images and 360-degree face photos, and businesses can create a face mask based on this information.
The reporter consulted 6 businesses that sell such masks: Do you need to provide personal information? The other party unanimously replied "no", and neither asked the reporter about the purpose and use of the mask.
In the comment area of such products, there are many inquiries about "whether silicone masks can be fake" and "whether they can pass the liveness detection of face recognition". Some buyers replied that wearing a silicone mask can pass the face detection at work. Merchants also said that the customized silicone mask has more than ninety percent similarity with a real person, and there is no problem with clocking in and out.
Some industry insiders told reporters that silicone face masks were first used for film and television performances and role-playing, or to meet some people's needs for scar covering and appearance repair. Silicone masks of different prices have different degrees of simulation, and most of the masks sold on the market are now toy-type masks. In general, the higher the price, the higher the degree of emulation.
Mimic biological features
There are multiple risks involved
Liu Jiong, an associate professor of criminal law at Xiamen University Law School, pointed out that the face mask is not a simple ornament, but a materialized carrier of face recognition information. It usually uses 3D printing technology and other means to materialize face data and make it into a hood or mask made of silicone and other materials. These masks not only have a high degree of fidelity, but also mimic the biological characteristics of a natural person to a certain extent, such as recognition, uniqueness and uniqueness.
"On the one hand, the use of face masks by buyers may evade surveillance and identification, making it more difficult to identify criminal suspects and offenders. This can be summed up as 'I don't want people to know who I am'. On the other hand, face masks can also be used to circumvent facial recognition technology and impersonate someone else to commit theft or other illegal acts. This can be summed up as 'I want people to think who I am'. Liu Jiong said that in these two cases, whether it is in the civil, administrative or criminal fields, there are certain legal risks.
Meng Qiang, a professor at the Law School of Beijing Institute of Technology, said that the sale of facial masks by merchants on e-commerce platforms may involve a variety of legal risks, or give rise to civil liability, administrative liability and even criminal liability.
"The legitimacy of the business of customizing face masks depends on a number of factors. For example, whether the use, production and sales process of the customized face mask is legal, whether it violates personal privacy, portrait rights, etc. Meng Qiang said that in some cases, custom face masks can also be used for legal purposes such as movie special effects, if the custom face mask involves infringement of personal privacy, portrait rights, reputation rights, etc., or the lack of legal and compliant sales processes, or involves illegal and criminal acts, etc., it is illegal.
According to Meng Qiang's analysis, if a face mask is made to imitate the facial features of a specific person, it may be a made, used, and disclosed portrait of another person without the consent of the portrait rights holder. The use of such masks may lead to the infringement of the right to reputation of others, so the perpetrator of the unauthorized use of such facial masks shall bear civil liability for the infringement of the right to reputation.
"E-commerce platform operators and merchants must not infringe on the rights and interests of consumers or violate market management regulations, and if the act of selling face masks constitutes an infringement of a specific person's personal information, portrait rights and other personality rights, or violates relevant provisions on online transaction security, the market regulation department may warn, fine, or order the merchant to suspend business for rectification." Meng Qiang said.
He pointed out that if the face masks sold are used for illegal purposes, such as engaging in criminal activities such as fraud, theft of identity information, invasion of personal privacy, etc., they may be complicit in participating in or helping to commit criminal acts, and thus need to bear corresponding criminal liability.
"Face masks may become a tool for upstream and downstream crimes, the upstream is responsible for collecting biological information such as faces, and the downstream may involve subsequent use, such as for fraud, theft, etc., so that the merchant's sales behavior breaks through the principle of technical neutrality of the criminal law and may constitute the crime of providing criminal tools." Liu Jiong said.
Carry out appropriate supervision
Make sure it is not abused
"The legality of the act of customizing a face mask is not a generalization, but depends on the specific use and scenario." Liu Jiong said.
He pointed out that in most cases, the original intention of the public to buy face masks may be to meet their individual needs or use them on special occasions, but when this act is used for illegal purposes, such as fraud, invasion of other people's privacy, etc., the nature of the mask changes fundamentally. Therefore, this operation cannot simply be regarded as wholly illegal, but should be judged on a case-by-case basis.
In Meng Qiang's view, the production, sale and use of face masks do have a greater risk of infringement and illegality, and it is more feasible to improve legislation and regulations and moderate supervision than to ban them completely. For example, strengthen the construction of relevant laws, regulations and rules, clearly define the legal and illegal uses of face masks, and strengthen the supervision mechanism in all aspects of production, sales and use, so as to reduce and reduce the risk of face masks being used for infringement and illegal acts while ensuring legitimate demand and reasonable use.
Meng Qiang suggested that the production and sale of face masks could be differentiated and supervised according to the degree of realism and use based on the different levels of risk. Products that are highly realistic or even capable of being used to deceive facial recognition systems or mislead others should be strictly regulated because of the greater risk of infringement and illegal crimes. In contrast, masks that are clearly festive or clearly unreal should be less restricted and regulated due to their entertainment and lower risk of misleading.
"In addition, even facial masks with a high degree of fidelity may be used for legitimate entertainment, artistic expression, education and training, etc., so as long as they do not infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of others or are used for illegal activities, they should also be allowed to be produced and used, and the key is to ensure that such products are not abused." Meng Qiang said that therefore, at the production and sales end, producers can be required to clearly mark their uses, provide guidelines for use, and emphasize legal and compliant use scenarios on the product; On the consumer side, some review mechanisms can be adopted for realistic portrait masks, such as restricting the age and target of consumers, or consumers providing proof of the use of portrait rights for face masks, so as to strike a balance between personal freedom, market transactions, the protection of others' rights, and the protection of public interests.
Liu's suggestion is that when customizing face masks, business providers should be required to conduct strict identity verification and use review. For highly realistic masks, they should be filed and reviewed by the public security department.
Weng Xiaoping, a partner at Beijing Jingjing Law Firm, mentioned that face masks have their application value in industries such as film and television, games, etc., and should be formulated through industry norms and standards to promote technological development while ensuring safety, and can also ensure the balance between economic interests and social responsibility through guidance and standardization. At the same time, it is also necessary to strengthen public education and jointly deal with the risks and challenges that may be brought about by face masks. (Legal Daily)
![Face mask, 10,000 yuan can be "privately customized"![fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)