CHOICE, in a complaint to the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) published on Monday, said use of the
technology at JB Hi-Fi Ltd's appliances chain The Good Guys as well as hardware
chain Bunnings and the Australian arm of big-box retailer Kmart - both owned by
Wesfarmers Ltd - was unwarranted and in violation of privacy law.
The OAIC, JB Hi-Fi and Wesfarmers were not
available for comment. The retailers previously told local media they used the
technology for security purposes.
CHOICE routinely contributes to government
inquiries involving consumer issues and its website says it was instrumental in
many regulatory changes such as bans on risky financial products.
In the complaint, CHOICE policy adviser Amy
Pereira said facial recognition technology brought "significant risk to
individuals" including "invasion of privacy, misidentification,
discrimination, profiling and exclusion, as well as vulnerability to cybercrime
through data breaches and identity theft".
"CHOICE urges you as Commissioner to
investigate this matter further and consider taking enforcement action,"
Pereira said.
Any investigation would be Australia's
biggest into the technology though OAIC has looked into the matter before.
In 2021, it ordered the Australian 7-Eleven
chain to destroy "faceprints" collected at 700 convenience stores
after setting up in-store surveys on the matter. It has also ordered US
software developer Clearview AI, which collects images from social media
websites to build profiles of individuals, to destroy data and stop the
practice in Australia.
The three chains in the CHOICE complaint
operate about 800 stores, booking AUD 25 billion in sales last year.
The consumer group said the three firms
collected personal and sensitive information without consent and without
clearly disclosing the practice in a policy.
Some stores have signs alerting shoppers to
the technology, but "customers' silence cannot be taken as consent"
and many had no alternative place to make their purchases, CHOICE said. ©
Reuters
0 comments:
Post a Comment