Rite Aid Under Fire for the "reckless" use of facial recognition in stores
Federal regulators have judged that the retailer is prohibited from using technology for five years.
Despite their efforts to improve the shopping experience, some retailers end up alienating customers by introducing new technologies supposed to help them. Frustration surrounding Auto-Verifiable kiosks Alone has created a debate on how certain advances may look like a step back. But other changes may have an even more serious impact when they involve our personal information or details. And now Rite Aid is under fire of federal officials for its use of facial recognition in stores.
In relation: Costco deploying new controversial caddings: "I hate them" .
On December 19, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the pharmacy chain reaches a regulation After a complaint, the retailer had exceeded the confidentiality limits in the use of the technology supported by AI on buyers, reports CNN. The agency said that facial recognition was ostensibly used to identify customers "deemed likely to engage in the display flight or another criminal behavior" and prevent them from entering stores or removing them from places from 2012 to 2020. AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB
However, the FTC claims that booming technology was often going to work misunderstood and wrongly report individuals as criminals, leading to public flight accusations by employees, detention and unjustified searches.
The agency's complaint also indicates that technology has created a " increased risk "From racial biases against buyers, saying that more false positives have been generated in black and Asian predominance communities than in white communities.
Specific complaints against Rite Aid include a body in which a 11 year old girl was reported as a thief and traumatized by experience and another in which a black woman called the police after the facial recognition software was wrongly targeted, The Washington Post reports.
The agency also declares that buyers have never been informed that technology was used, and store employees were invited not to admit its use publicly.
"The reckless use of Rite AID of facial surveillance systems has left its clients faced with humiliation and other damages, and its violations of the order endangerly consumer information", " Samuel Levine said the director of the FTC consumer protection office in a statement. "Today's revolutionary order clearly indicates that the Commission will be vigilant to protect the public from unfair biometric surveillance and disloyal data security practices."
In a report Respond , Rite Aid said he was "happy to reach an agreement" with the agency. However, the company added: "We are fundamentally disagreed with the allegations of facial recognition in the complaint of the agency", "saying that it had deployed technology only as" pilot program ... in a number Limited of stores "and had stopped using it more than three years ago.
"Rite Aid's mission has always been and will continue to be used and conveniently communities in which we operate," wrote the company. "The security of our partners and our customers is essential. As part of the agreement with the FTC, we will continue to improve and formalize the practices and policies of our full information security program."
Following the regulations, Rite AID will be prohibited to use facial recognition technology in its stores for five years and must delete all the images it has collected as part of the program. According to the agency, the company must also keep the FTC up to date on its compliance measures.
Some experts claim that the company's regulations could have a deep impact on potential future uses of facial recognition.
"These are the types of common sense restrictions that have been long to protect the public from the reckless adoption of surveillance technologies", " Joy Buolamwini , an AI researcher having history of research on racial prejudices of technology, told The post office . "The face is the last border of privacy, and it is more than ever crucial than we are fighting for our biometric rights, from airports to pharmacies to schools and hospitals."
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