Consumer group says use of technology at major retailers is ‘completely inappropriate and unnecessary’
Bunnings, Kmart and The Good Guys have been using facial recognition technology in a bid to crack down on theft in-store, research by Choice says.
The privacy policy for The Good Guys says the cameras may capture an image of someone’s face to track the person through the store, and be retained to identify someone on future visits. The company says it is “strictly for the purposes of security and theft prevention and managing/improving customer experience at our stores”.
“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.” A Choice survey released as part of the research found 78% of those surveyed had concerns about how their biometric data was being stored, while 75% were concerned companies might use the data to create customer profiles for marketing purposes.Choice says it has notified the OIAC of its findings and asked it to determine whether the use of the technology is consistent with the Privacy Act.