The Supreme People's Court of China ruled to prohibit businesses from making facial recognition verification mandatory for mobile application services, The Washington Post reports. The court's judicial interpretation stated user consent for facial recognition is required unless the technology is used in cases of public safety, public health emergencies and other crises. The guidelines come into effect Aug. 1. Supreme People's Court Vice President Yang Wanming acknowledged the public is "increasingly worried" about facial recognition while also mentioning concerns about subsequent targeted advertising from the collected data.