Kmart facial recognition technology

2022 - 6 - 16

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Image courtesy of "10 News First"

Kmart, Bunnings & Good Guys Statements On Facial Recognition ... (10 News First)

At Kmart we are trialling facial recognition in a small number of stores for the limited purposes of safety and loss prevention (such as reducing refund fraud).

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Image courtesy of "The Conversation AU"

Bunnings, Kmart and The Good Guys say they use facial recognition ... (The Conversation AU)

Australia's consumer advocacy group Choice identified three Australian retailers who use facial recognition to identify consumers. What are the privacy ...

Ideally, the images would be encoded and stored in a file that’s readable only by the algorithm specific to the device or software processor. Until then, consumers may try to avoid collection by donning hats, sunglasses and face masks. The news has stoked shoppers’ fears of how their image data may be used. But do consumers really know what this entails, and how or where their images could be used or stored? But facial recognition technology takes this a step further by matching our unique identifying information to a stored digital image. If you’ve seen the movie Minority Report, you’ll remember how Tom Cruise’s character John Anderton is identified through iris recognition to perform his duties, and later tracked with it when he’s a wanted man.

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Image courtesy of "The West Australian"

Bunnings, Kmart and Good Guys investigated by Choice over facial ... (The West Australian)

Three major retailers are at the centre of an investigation over a 'completely inappropriate use of technology' to record customers - with most shoppers ...

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Image courtesy of "The Latch"

Turns Out Your Favourite Shops Have Been Using Facial ... (The Latch)

Bunnings, Kmart, and The Good Guys are the three stores that CHOICE found to be using facial recognition technology to record customer information.

Nearly two thirds of respondents (65%) are concerned about stores using the technology to create profiles of customers that could cause them harm. The company surveyed 25 leading Aussie retailers about their use of the controversial technology and found that these three are the only ones to be doing so. “That leaves it pretty wide open. Facial recognition captures and stores unique biometric information like your facial features, which are as unique as a fingerprint. Stores may be using it for the purposes of security now, but down the road, they may also include terms of use that would say that they can use it for marketing purposes.” They also have this information laid out online, as Kate Bower, CHOICE consumer data advocate explained.

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Image courtesy of "ABC News"

Renewed calls for national guidelines on using facial recognition ... (ABC News)

Experts say there is a "huge gap" in laws surrounding facial recognition programs, potentially exposing Australians to data harvesting or being wrongly ...

He said the Choice's investigation "unmasks" some of the uses in the country, and that consent is one of the most pressing issues. As for how widespread the use of facial recognition technology is in Australia, Mr Santow says "the short answer is we don't know". Facial analysis is the "most experimental" form and equates to "junk science", according to Mr Santow. Next is facial identification, a "much more complicated" form that might be used to identify people in crowds and is "prone to error". The first is facial recognition, which Mr Santow said is the "least sophisticated" and the type used on smartphones. Tech and human rights experts have renewed calls for a national framework on the use of facial recognition technology, as one described it as the "wild west of the digital world".

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Image courtesy of "Crikey"

Call for ban on facial recognition following claims retailers are using ... (Crikey)

A report that claims Bunnings and Kmart may be breaking the law with their use of facial recognition has spurred calls for a moratorium.

Lewis pointed towards a 2021 report released by the Hugh Rights Commissioner Human Rights and Technology calling for the temporary ban. Two-thirds of them said they were concerned that profiles created using facial recognition could harm them. Yesterday, consumer advocacy group CHOICE released a report investigating how Australia’s top 25 retailers are using facial recognition technology.

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Image courtesy of "Sky News Australia"

'Invasive' Kmart and Bunnings tech raises major privacy concerns (Sky News Australia)

A leading consumer advocacy group is cracking down on a "creepy and invasive" practice used by three major Australian retailers.

Major Australian retailers Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys are using facial recognition technology in stores, raising concerns among privacy experts. This technology is not used for marketing, consumer behaviour tracking, and images of children are never enrolled. Facial recognition technology captures and stores an individual's unique biometric information such as facial features. A spokesperson for The Good Guys told SkyNews.com.au some stores are trialling the use of a new CCTV system "solely for the purposes of loss prevention and the safety" of customers and team members. Stream more business news with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. Consumer group CHOICE is pushing for more transparency around the "creepy and invasive" use of facial recognition technology at Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys.

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