Hong Kong protesters are using masks and lasers to avoid detection by face-recognition software, according to a BuzzFeed News report.

"We're all protecting ourselves and hiding our identities," protester Bun Chen told BuzzFeed.
"We don’t know what this government can do. We don't know what these police can do."

Face masks and lasers are being used by protesters in standoffs with police, according to the report, to obstruct clear photos.

"Once they've got a good facial shot, they can just run it through the database and find it very easily," surveillance expert Sam Samuels, a former U.K. police officer, told BuzzFeed.

As Hong Kong protesters rally against China's extradition bill and encroachment on their freedoms, per the report, the government is using facial-recognition technology to surveil dissidents as it aims to curtail protest violence is equated Monday to "signs of terrorism emerging."

Hong Kong is using face-recognition technology in its ID cards, passports, and at the border entrance of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, according to BuzzFeed.

The latest passports and ID cards use chips storing biometric data, including fingerprints and photos, although not all residents have the newest high-tech cards.

The stored photos are high enough resolution for face recognition to identify moles, scares, and facial features and can "support facial recognition from different sources, including camera and live video," according to the report.

Hong Kong law does restrict "excessive data" collection, according to Hong Kong data privacy lawyer Anita Lam, but with the data collected, it permits use in fighting crime and some cases "could justify using more intrusive means," Lam added.

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