Bunnings and Kmart paused their operations in the meantime, following an investigation against them. Australia's privacy watchdog urged the retail giants to suspend facial recognition technology as the probe continues.
Bunnings and Kmart Pauses Use of Facial Recognition
Two weeks ago, Bunnings and Kmart were caught under fire when they were accused of taking advantage of the faceprints. The allegations said that these companies have been taking pictures of the customer's faces in the stores.
In their defense, the two firms responded that they were only doing it for the protection of their customers and employees. Additionally, they said that facial recognition technology would also help reduce the theft cases happening in some stores.
According to The Guardian, Bunnings and Kmart are currently under a privacy probe spearheaded by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). The watchdog said they would look forward to identifying if these companies are following the privacy policies.
Initially, consumer advocacy firm Choice urged the investigators to launch the probe. Based on the analysis, they found out that aside from Bunnings and Kmart, The Good Guys was also capturing the customers' biometric information.
Furthermore, Choice clarified that 76% of Australians did not know that the facial recognition technology in the stores existed. They remained unaware despite the presence of store sign-ups.
On Monday, Mike Schneider, the managing director of Bunnings, said that the company wouldn't be using the facial recognition system for a while amid the ongoing investigation.
Schneider added that the technology helps them in seeing the banned customers who have been entering their stores. This would also lessen the staff's load to identify an individual's facial features.
"We don't use it for marketing or customer behavior tracking, and we certainly don't use it to identify regular customers who enter our stores as Choice has suggested," he added.
Limiting Criminal Activity
Likewise, Kmart said that the technology is used neither for marketing nor tracking customers' activities inside the store.
According to the company's spokesman, the facial recognition technology is solely used for monitoring potential criminal activity that might escalate. The firm ensures that it would be used with "strict" controls.
As per news.com.au, OAIC investigated a previous probe regarding 7-Eleven's use of facial recognition technology. It turned out that the company was collecting personal data from the customers without their due consent.
Angelene Falk, the Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner, has started another probe with the Good Guys Discount Warehouses in the country. The company has also suspended the use of faceprints at the moment.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joseph Henry
