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KAI to install more facial recognition gates despite data security concerns
The facial recognition technology was first introduced by KAI at Bandung Station in West Java in September last year before being fully in place a month later.
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A passenger looks at the facial recognition gate at the Bandung train station in Bandung, West Java in this undated photo. State-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) plans to install more facial recognition equipment on gates at intercity train stations by February 2024. (-/Courtesy of PT KAI)
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tate-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia’s (KAI) plan to expand the installation of facial recognition technology at its train stations across the country has raised concerns among passengers and experts about the registration hassle and personal data security.
The facial recognition technology was first introduced by KAI at Bandung Station in West Java in September 2022 before being fully in place in October this year.
The technology streamlines the boarding process for passengers as they only need to scan their face at the machine at the gate. Before, passengers needed to show their boarding passes and identification cards to officials at the gate.
“[Passengers] won’t have to bother with providing physical or online boarding passes or their IDs,” KAI spokesperson Joni Martinus said recently.
To use the facial recognition, passengers need to register at a check-in counter in train stations or through the KAI mobile application by inputting their name, identity card number (NIK) and a portrait of their face.
Passengers can then board the train through the facial recognition gates at all stations as the system identifies them through a facial scan and verifies it with the ticket they bought. The system stores the data for a year before it automatically deletes the personal information.
Read also: Government trials facial recognition system to improve social aid disbursement
