Facial recognition in retail sparks privacy concerns

Expert insights on facial recognition technology in retail settings highlight privacy concerns and the need for social licence to operate.

Nicholas Dynon, Innovation & Risk Manager at Optic Security Group, has addressed the ongoing controversies surrounding the deployment of facial recognition technology (FRT) in retail environments. Dynon, who is a certified security risk professional and counter terrorism practitioner, emphasised the importance of privacy considerations in the implementation of FRT systems.

Referring to recent remarks by Australia's Privacy Commissioner, Dynon stated, "Comments this week by Australia's Privacy Commissioner underscore the importance of taking a privacy-by-design approach to deploying facial recognition technology (FRT). For retailers considering FRT, this means not only ensuring all the privacy legislation boxes are ticked but also taking a step back and asking whether FRT is the most appropriate solution to your security problem."

His comments follow multiple media reports highlighting controversies associated with FRT. Dynon noted, "The frequency of FRT controversies hitting the media suggests that practitioners responsible for providing advice to organisations in relation to the suitability of security systems often fail to incorporate the 'public acceptability' of potential FRT deployments within their advice."

Dynon's research, which surveyed public opinion across the US, UK, and Australia, suggests that there is a need for organisations, particularly retailers, to closely evaluate whether their adoption of FRT aligns with public expectations. "Academic research conducted across the US, UK and Australia into FRT public acceptability suggests that organisations — and especially retailers — should take an informed approach to evaluating whether their potential deployment aligns with community expectations," he said.

He further remarked, "A key finding of the research data is that people are generally less accepting of FRT cameras in retail stores than they are of FRT used by Customs at airports or by Police in investigations of serious crime. In short, people place relatively little trust in retailers' ability to operate the technology responsibly or in ways that are demonstrably beneficial to the public."

There is a perceived inconsistency in the public's acceptance of FRT usage, as Dynon explained, "The use of FRT by retailers to identify known shoplifters and antisocial patrons, for example, is considered no more acceptable by the public than the idea of its use by police to identify minor offenders or traffic rule breakers. The identification of minor offenders is widely seen as a disproportionate use of the technology."

Despite the controversies, the public appears more accepting of FRT when used for identifying shoplifters, antisocial patrons, and fraudsters, as opposed to its application in loyalty programs, advertising, payments, or tracking customer behaviour. "That being said, the public is more accepting of retailers' use of FRT to identify shoplifters, antisocial patrons and fraudsters than it is of its use by retailers for other purposes — such as loyalty programs, advertising, payments and the tracking of customer behaviour," Dynon highlighted.

Dynon concluded by addressing the complexities of deploying FRT, stating, "FRT is a powerful tool that offers many potential security — and other — benefits. But what may be viewed by an organisation as a revolutionary crime prevention and business improvement capability may be viewed by many of its customers or employees as technological overreach and a threat to individual privacy and freedoms."

He warned of the risks associated with inappropriate FRT deployment, "Inappropriate FRT deployment exposes the organisation operating it to significant reputational risk. Understanding the deployment-specific patterns of public acceptability of FRT can assist organisations to ensure that they possess the social licence to operate this emerging technology and thus engage with it with confidence."