Facial recognition tech not a green light for surveillance
Analysis: The Privacy Commissioner's much-anticipated report into Foodstuffs North Island's trial of facial recognition technology (deemed an 'inherently invasive' tool) offers plenty to chew over.
Although the inquiry found the trial legal and generally compliant with the Privacy Act, important questions remain, and the report recommends that the technology stay under active review.
People who may have been paranoid about facial recognition technology being used to monitor their every move in supermarkets – what's purchased and so forth – can rest easy.
The commissioner found the technology was only used for the very narrow purpose of deterring serious incidents of violence and high-value retail theft by matching customers against a store's 'watchlist' (the image database of people of interest). It was not used for any other purpose, including minor retail crime prevention. The report cautioned against any future 'mission creep' in this regard.
Furthermore, although everyone entering a store with such technology had their face scanned, images that did not trigger a match against the store's watchlist were deleted almost instantaneously.
Meanwhile, watchlist data was deleted after two years in the case of perpetrators (and three months for their accomplices).
The number of people put on watchlists peaked at 1800 during the trial and was down to 1504 at the end. Crucially, watchlist data was specific to each store, meaning there was no master list shared within the Foodstuffs' network. This meant anyone who had been added to one store's watchlist could still shop elsewhere, including at a store without facial recognition technology.
Just as importantly, the criteria for being added to a watchlist were strict: either a conviction or a trespass notice was required. There was also de-linkage from other incident reporting systems, and watchlists were compiled manually.
A two-camera/two-staff fail-safe system was adopted for positive matches, and the commissioner's report found no bias in how watchlists were compiled as well as used. Children and young people were excluded from watchlists.
Meanwhile, Foodstuffs also maintained record keeping for judging the effectiveness of the facial recognition trial.
A 16 percent decrease in serious incidents and an estimated 21 percent decrease in shoplifting in the participating stores was recorded. In addition, 115 serious incidents were avoided (including 65 people deterred from entering and 50 others through staff intervention). However, some scepticism was expressed because of qualitative limitations in the overall data set (especially data from non-participating stores which operated as the control group).
The report documented at least two instances of misidentification, resulting in harm. Partly as a result, the accuracy rate required for positive matches was increased from 90 percent to 92.5 percent, although this still needed to be implemented. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner's Māori Reference Panel had opposed facial recognition technology in principle but gave advice enabling further safeguards to be adopted.
Finally, the report cautions that its findings are 'not a green light for more general use of facial recognition technology'. This is a salutary reminder that decisions to employ it should not be taken lightly.
Few small and medium-sized businesses will have the resources of Foodstuffs. The trial succeeded because of its investment in human time and effort. Technology, ultimately, is no substitute for this.
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a day ago
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Joint Statement On Use Of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) In Retail Settings
Press Release – Joint Media Statement We are firmly of the opinion that FRT, when used fairly and accurately, can be a valuable intervention to help keep customers and employees safe. The undersigned major New Zealand retailers strongly support the use of fair and accurate technology to protect our workers and customers. We support the option for retailers to use Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) to reduce harm and proactively combat retail crime. Our teams face high rates of verbal and physical abuse from repeat offenders who pose a risk to our employees, customers and other visitors to our stores. They are often responsible for significant violence, stock loss or damage. We are firmly of the opinion that FRT, when used fairly and accurately, can be a valuable intervention to help keep customers and employees safe. It is a powerful and effective tool alongside other crime prevention resources such as security guards, fog cannons, staff training, body cameras, panic alarms, CCTV and other technology solutions. We acknowledge Foodstuffs North Island for their leadership in trialling this new technology, and also the oversight provided by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in assessing FRT's suitability for use in New Zealand. The trial clearly showed that the technology made a measurable impact in reducing crime, and improving safety in stores. A survey of 1000 New Zealanders found 89% support the use of FRT if it reduces harm by 10%. Keeping our people safe at work and keeping our customers safe is of paramount importance. A significant proportion of retail crime is committed by repeat offenders. It is these recidivist offenders that we are able to target with FRT. FRT offers the opportunity for us to quickly identify individuals of interest as they enter the store. Staff and/or security personnel are then able to respond quickly and decide how to manage each situation. Intervention is not required for every situation but FRT helps our teams to prevent or de-escalate incidents and offences. We recognise that technology must be used in a fair and accurate way. Guardrails are needed to support customers' privacy, and to guard against potential bias and discrimination. We collectively make a commitment to work with Retail NZ to develop best practice to ensure FRT is used only to keep our people safe, and in line with our obligations under the Privacy Act. The use of FRT in the right settings with the right controls will provide positive benefits and outcomes for customers, retailers and workers, while not impeding on the privacy of New Zealanders. The vast majority of customers will be able to go about their business as usual and will in fact be safer in those stores where FRT is used.
Scoop
a day ago
- Scoop
Joint Statement On Use Of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) In Retail Settings
The undersigned major New Zealand retailers strongly support the use of fair and accurate technology to protect our workers and customers. We support the option for retailers to use Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) to reduce harm and proactively combat retail crime. Our teams face high rates of verbal and physical abuse from repeat offenders who pose a risk to our employees, customers and other visitors to our stores. They are often responsible for significant violence, stock loss or damage. We are firmly of the opinion that FRT, when used fairly and accurately, can be a valuable intervention to help keep customers and employees safe. It is a powerful and effective tool alongside other crime prevention resources such as security guards, fog cannons, staff training, body cameras, panic alarms, CCTV and other technology solutions. We acknowledge Foodstuffs North Island for their leadership in trialling this new technology, and also the oversight provided by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in assessing FRT's suitability for use in New Zealand. The trial clearly showed that the technology made a measurable impact in reducing crime, and improving safety in stores. A survey of 1000 New Zealanders found 89% support the use of FRT if it reduces harm by 10%. Keeping our people safe at work and keeping our customers safe is of paramount importance. A significant proportion of retail crime is committed by repeat offenders. It is these recidivist offenders that we are able to target with FRT. FRT offers the opportunity for us to quickly identify individuals of interest as they enter the store. Staff and/or security personnel are then able to respond quickly and decide how to manage each situation. Intervention is not required for every situation but FRT helps our teams to prevent or de-escalate incidents and offences. We recognise that technology must be used in a fair and accurate way. Guardrails are needed to support customers' privacy, and to guard against potential bias and discrimination. We collectively make a commitment to work with Retail NZ to develop best practice to ensure FRT is used only to keep our people safe, and in line with our obligations under the Privacy Act. The use of FRT in the right settings with the right controls will provide positive benefits and outcomes for customers, retailers and workers, while not impeding on the privacy of New Zealanders. The vast majority of customers will be able to go about their business as usual and will in fact be safer in those stores where FRT is used.
