Big Brother Watch, a British privacy and civil liberties group have filed a detailed legal complaint against Asda’s live facial recognition trial in its Greater Manchester stores. They argue that Asda’s use of this surveillance technology is disproportionate.
The group’s Senior Advocacy Officer Madeleine Stone said that the trial is “deeply disproportionate and chilling, and risks violating the privacy rights of thousands of people,” Stone said. “Facial recognition surveillance turns shoppers into suspects by subjecting customers browsing the supermarket aisles to a series of invasive biometric identity checks. We believe Asda’s use of live facial recognition surveillance is likely to be unlawful, and have filed this legal complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office, urging the data regulator to investigate and urgently halt Asda’s trial.”
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