It Seems We Have Our Own Privacy Challenge Much Closer To Home!

This issue popped up last week

Bunnings, Kmart dig in on facial recognition as scrutiny grows

Joseph Brookes
Senior Reporter

30 June 2022

The Good Guys will “pause” its use of facial recognition technology following an investigation and subsequent complaint to the privacy regulator by a consumer group. But Bunnings and Kmart are digging in on their use of the controversial technology.

The three retailers have been using facial recognition to identify customers as part of security systems, which they say reduce theft and aggressive behaviour in stores.

Consumer group Choice exposed the practice as part of a wider investigation of Australian retailers’ use of the technology. Choice has alleged it was a breach of Australian privacy law in a complaint to the regulator.

The regulator, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), is now obliged to investigate the matter, and has already found against another retailer in a separate case privacy experts say is similar.

As backlash grew to the latest use of facial recognition by retailers, one backed away from the controversial technology this week.

The Good Guys on Tuesday confirmed it had paused its trial of facial recognition in two Melbourne stores, which it said was part of a new security system. But the retailer is confident it hadn’t broken any laws.

“The technology was solely used to review incidents of theft, and for the purposes of customer and team member safety and wellbeing,” a spokesperson for The Good Guys said. “The decision was made to pause the trial at this time pending any clarification from the OAIC regarding the use of this technology.”

But Bunnings and Kmart said their position has not changed. Spokespeople for the two Wesfarmers retail giants confirmed the companies were aware of the complaint with the regulator and are awaiting correspondence.

Bunnings looks set to argue the use of the technology is proportionate to the need to keep staff and consumers safe in stores, and has hit back at the consumer group.

The hardware retailer’s chief operating officer Simon McDowell said Bunnings is “disappointed” by Choice’s “inaccurate characterisation” of its use of facial recognition technology.

“There are strict controls around the use of the technology which can only be accessed by a specially trained team. This technology is not used for marketing, consumer behaviour tracking, and images of children are never enrolled,” he said in a statement.

“We let customers know if the technology is in use through signage at our store entrances and also in our privacy policy, which is available via the homepage of our website.”

A spokesperson for Kmart said, like Bunnings, its customers are made aware of the technology through physical signs and its privacy policy.

More here:

https://www.innovationaus.com/bunnings-kmart-dig-in-on-facial-recognition-as-scrutiny-grows/

There was also coverage here:

https://www.itnews.com.au/news/the-good-guys-pauses-facial-recognition-trial-581959

The Good Guys pauses facial recognition trial

By Byron Kaye on Jun 29, 2022 6:35AM

Over privacy complaint.

The Good Guys, Australia's second-biggest appliances chain, is pausing a trial of facial recognition technology in stores after a consumer group referred it to the privacy regulator for possible enforcement action.

Use of the technology by The Good Guys, owned by JB Hi-Fi, and two other retail chains was "unreasonably intrusive" and potentially in breach of privacy laws, the consumer group CHOICE told the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) in a complaint published on Monday.

The Good Guys said it would "pause the trial of the upgraded security system with the optional facial recognition technology being conducted in two of its Melbourne stores". 

The company took confidentiality of personal information seriously and was confident it had complied with relevant laws, but decided "to pause the trial at this time pending any clarification from the OAIC regarding the use of this technology", it added.

More here:

https://www.itnews.com.au/news/the-good-guys-pauses-facial-recognition-trial-581959

There is a more expansive commentary here:

We must not sleepwalk into mass surveillance

Edward Santow

Lawyer and human rights expert

June 30, 2022 — 3.30pm

You’re minding your own business in a big store – let’s say Bunnings or Kmart – and a couple of burly security guards tap you on the shoulder. You are marched back towards the exit, with strangers and a family you know staring at the spectacle. You’re then turfed out and told not to come back.

When you ask why, one of the guards says your face has been matched against a list of known shoplifters. Though you’ve never been accused, much less convicted, of stealing so much as a paperclip in your life, there’s little you can do. You’re already in the carpark.

The security guards shrug. There’s nothing they can do either. The company’s computer matched your face against a database of people they don’t want in the store. As soon as your face was matched, the security guards were instructed to remove you.

Consumer advocacy group Choice’s recent investigation revealed how several big-brand companies use facial recognition on their customers. Electronics retailer the Good Guys this week responded to the consumer backlash by pausing its facial recognition program, pending clarification from the privacy regulator.

But why are companies even using the technology? Some use facial recognition to prevent shoplifting. Others want to learn more about you – for example, how you behave, where in the store you linger, and what marketing displays you respond to. These insights can be used to target advertising your way.

There are many legitimate uses of facial recognition. We routinely use this tech to unlock our smartphones. It can also be a lifeline for people with disability – for example, some people who are blind use facial recognition to identify family, friends and colleagues, and to help navigate the world around them.

However, left unregulated, the technology also poses a real threat.

The accuracy of facial recognition might be improving, but it is still prone to high rates of error – especially when used on people of colour, women and people with a physical disability. When a company or the police use facial recognition to identify criminal suspects, the stakes couldn’t be higher. An error can lead to someone being kicked out of a store for no good reason. Worse, a person might be unlawfully arrested, detained and even prosecuted.

But even if the technology were perfect, or at least as good as humans at identifying people, as facial recognition becomes more ubiquitous we risk sliding towards mass surveillance. Australians value their privacy; we don’t want our every move monitored. In my previous role as Australia’s human rights commissioner, people told me again and again that they don’t want companies and government to use their personal information against them.

Our privacy law offers some protection against companies and governments misusing personal information, but that law has as many holes as Swiss cheese. Often the only way to access a product or service is to click “I accept”. Theoretically, you can read a long screed of legalese that sets out how the organisation proposes to use personal information, but most people don’t have the time or expertise to engage with the fine print. Yet even without free and informed consent, by clicking “I accept”, your privacy protections can be wiped away.

More here:

https://www.smh.com.au/national/we-must-not-sleepwalk-into-mass-surveillance-20220630-p5ay0q.html

Here is the original release from Choice

CHOICE reveals Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys are using facial recognition technology on unsuspecting customers

More than three in four Australians unaware businesses are capturing their faceprint.

A CHOICE investigation into Australia's 25 biggest and most trusted retailers has revealed that Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys are using facial recognition technology to identify customers who enter selected stores. 

Facial recognition analyses images from video cameras to capture each person's unique facial features, known as a faceprint. 

"The use of facial recognition by Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys is a completely inappropriate and unnecessary use of the technology. To make matters worse, we found 76% of Australians aren't aware that retailers are capturing their unique facial features in this way," says CHOICE consumer data advocate, Kate Bower. 

"Using facial recognition technology in this way is similar to Kmart, Bunnings or The Good Guys collecting your fingerprints or DNA every time you shop. Businesses using invasive technologies to capture their customers' sensitive biometric information is unethical and is a sure way to erode consumer trust."

CHOICE's nationally representative survey also revealed: 

• More than four in five (83%) agreed retailers must properly inform customers about their use of facial recognition technology.
• Nearly four in five (78%) had concerns about how their biometric data was being stored.
• Three in four (75%) were concerned companies would use their data to create customer profiles for the purposes of marketing or profit.

"CHOICE observed that Kmart and Bunnings display small signs at the entrance of stores where the technology is in use. However, discreet signage and online privacy policies are not nearly enough to adequately inform shoppers that this controversial technology is in use. The technology is capturing highly personal data from customers, including infants and children," says Bower.

CHOICE is referring the retailers to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to investigate potential breaches of the Privacy Act, and calling on the Federal government to implement a modern regulatory framework that protects consumers from harmful and unfair practices. 

"CHOICE is concerned that Australian businesses are using facial recognition technology on consumers before Australians have had their say on its use in our community. With the government currently undergoing a review of the Privacy Act, now is the perfect time to strengthen measures around the capture and use of consumer data, including biometric data," says Bower. 

Read the full story here: www.choice.com.au/facialrecognition 

More here:

https://www.choice.com.au/about-us/media-releases/2022/june/choice-reveals-kmart-bunnings-and-the-good-guys-are-using-facial-recognition-technology

Even admitting that facial recognition is hardly all that accurate it seems pretty clear that this area is one that, as Choice says, is really needing proper regulation as well as implementation rules etc. so that the public is clear as to what is going on

The arguments made by the shops re reducing customer risk and ‘shrinkage’ are all perfectly legitimate and so the whole issue has quite significant complexity.

I look forward to seeing where the Parliament finally lands on balancing these interests, among all the other rights and responsibilities that will need to considered and balanced!!

David.