Kmart, Bunnings in Australia Under Fire Over Controversial Customer ‘Faceprints’

Kmart and Bunnings in Australia are now under the scrutiny of the privacy watchdog in the country for collecting the "faceprints" of their customers in some of their stores.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has already opened an investigation to see if these giant retailers have breached the privacy laws in the country.

(Photo : Michael Bradley/Getty Images)
HAMILTON, NEW ZEALAND - NOVEMBER 03: Customers take the opportunity to shop at KMart on November 03, 2021 in Hamilton, New Zealand.

Kmart, Bunnings Under Fire in Australia Over Customer 'Faceprints'

As per a news story by BBC, the giant department store, Kmart, and the massive hardware store, Bunnings, have been collecting the "faceprints" of their walk-in customers in select stores.

The Australian Information Commissioner, Angelene Falk, says that both retailers in the country argue that their move to collect the biometric information of their visitors is "reasonably necessary" for operating their stores."

The two retailers went on to defend their "faceprints" collection as a sort of safety and anti-theft measure that their stores need.

According to a recent report by Daily Mail UK, the retailers in Australia also share that the facial recognition system is also meant to combat anti-social behavior.

On top of defending it, Falk further notes that Kmart and Bunnings claim that they have the consent of their customers to collect their biometric data upon entering their stores.

The commissioner says that both retailers say that they have "clear consent."

However, the Australia Information Commissioner sees the facial recognition technology in these retailers as a concern.

(Photo : Dan Peled/Getty Images)
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 16: People queue to receive a Covid-19 vaccine at a Bunnings hardware store on October 16, 2021 in Brisbane, Australia.

It comes after the consumer advocate group that goes by the named CHOICE warned that these retailers are collecting the sensitive biometric data of their customers without prior consent.

The consumer data advocate from CHOICE, Kate Bower, says that they " believe that these retail businesses are disproportionate in their over-collection of this information, which means that they may be in breach of the Privacy Act."

Retailer 'Faceprint' Collection

BBC also reports that the watchdog is not only exclusively looking into Bunnings and Kmart. In fact, another retailer in Australia, The Good Guys, is also facing inquiries even as it has already suspended its facial recognition measures in its stores.

Meanwhile, Daily Mail UK further says in the same news story that The Good Guys has already halted its facial recognition surveillance in its stores as the ruling from the Australian watchdog is still pending.

As such, it is still unclear for The Good Guys if their "faceprint" collection is allowed under The Privacy Act in the Aussie nation.

The news outlet also notes that the Australian Information Commissioner has previously been faced with a similar case last year or in 2021. The multinational convenience store giant, 7-Eleven, has been collecting the "faceprints" of its customers as well.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Teejay Boris