Smile, you’re on facial recognition camera! A number of retail businesses are now using facial recognition technology, and others are considering it.
In July 2021, digital rights non-profit Fight for the Future launched an initiative to document which retailers are using facial recognition, and which have committed to not employ the technology. They have published a scorecard showing which retailers they believe use facial recognition and which do not (although some of the companies identified as using facial recognition deny it). According to Caitlin Seeley George, a campaign director at Fight for the Future, “A lot of people would probably be surprised to know how many retailers that they shop in on a regular basis are using this technology in a variety of ways to protect their profits and maximize their profits as well.”
An article on Forbes.com says that three benefits of retail facial recognition are that it can reduce shoplifting, allow stores to customize the shopping experience and enable employees to provide better customer service. Think of how Amazon knows your buying history and other preferences whenever you go to the site. Facial recognition could provide employees of physical retail stores those same insights. One downside is that some customers may not want to be tracked as closely in the physical world as they are online. Additionally, a major concern for many consumers is that facial regulation is largely unregulated, and disclosure of its usage is generally not required.
Of course, like any other technology facial recognition is not perfect. Recent studies revealed that facial recognition less accurately identifies female and non-white faces, which may result in discrimination. A Black Michigan teenager was denied access to a skating rink after its facial recognition software falsely identified her as someone who was involved in an earlier fight at the facility. Another Michigander has sued the Detroit Police Department after he was arrested for a robbery he did not commit due to a facial recognition match that was clearly wrong.
At this time, laws regulating the use of facial recognition have focused on law enforcement; however, expect that use by businesses will be addressed in future laws.
