Privacy activists are branding frozen food retailer Iceland’s decision to test facial recognition technology at several stores. “chilling” The UK supermarket chain claims it is deploying the cameras in order to reduce crime.
Two stores in England have already implemented the pilot: The Food Warehouse outlet on Manningham Lane in Bradford and an Iceland shop at Salford in Greater Manchester. By October, four more branches will be added to the list. Facewatch provides the FRT, which is currently used by retailers such as House of Fraser and Sports Direct. The camera is connected to a database that contains people suspected of committing crimes in previous visits to Facewatch customers’ stores.
UK’s first permanent face recognition cameras are installed in South London.
Read moreIf a suspect has been spotted, the employees at the store are notified. If the face of the shopper does not match the images of suspects previously uploaded by the retailers, the face is deleted.
Richard Walker, CEO of Iceland, claimed on LinkedIn he would “do anything and everything to help protect our customers.”
“Organized and targeted retail crime is out of control. Every single week I see the reports from our stores and read about our colleagues being abused, threatened, and assaulted simply for doing their job,” add. He said that the technology “not monitor innocent shoppers. It does not store your data. It helps trained store teams calmly identify repeat offenders who are known to use violence or intimidation. That is it.”
Iceland estimates a 30% reduction in violent incidents. According to the CEO theft and damage increase prices, which hits the “most vulnerable customers hardest.”
Jake Hurfurt is the head of research and investigation at Big Brother Watch.:
the campaign group pointed out an incident reported earlier in the month where a shopper who was wrongly accused of taking paracetamol, was blacklisted by a store using Facewatch. She was asked to leave when she returned to the store and complained to the ICO.
- Smile! UK lawmakers claim that live facial recognition is not legal.
- UK legislators say that live facial detection lacks a basis.
“Facial recognition has no basis in law and has never been voted on in Parliament, but the UK is facing an explosion in the Orwellian technology as both businesses and police take advantage of a legal wild west. Iceland should abandon this rollout and put its customers’ privacy first, and the government must act to rein in the unchecked expansion of this intrusive technology,” Hurfurt also added.
Walker, at Iceland, agreed that “some people will not like” FRT was a good idea. “but I make zero apologies for it,” He said in response Big Brother Watch. He added.
Facewatch’s CEO Nick Fisher commented on Walker’s LinkedIn posting: “We are proud to stand with responsible retailers like Iceland and the many other partners who have placed their trust in Facewatch, as we work together to keep our frontline retail colleagues safe and protected in these unprecedented times.”
An Information Commissioner’s Office spokesperson told us: “Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) is able to help retailers detect and pre-empt crime, and has clear public benefits.” Its use must be proportionate and necessary, and the benefits must not outweigh the fundamental right to privacy.
“All retailers should carefully consider any use of FRT on their premises and ensure compliance with data protection law. The right checks and balances must be in place to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the personal information they collect. We continue to monitor the use of FRT across the economy to ensure it remains lawful, transparent and proportionate.” (r)
