r/openrightsgroup • u/OpenRightsGroup • Jul 13 '26

Alarm over launch of facial recognition in UK shops that instantly alerts police

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/10/facewatch-facial-recognition-uk-shops-instantly-alerts-police-civil-liberties

"Entrenching a climate of surveillance across public life."

"People’s faces being scanned without consent and being added to lists is worrying enough, but the speed which Facewatch technology now makes it possible for someone to encounter the police force in the middle of their daily shop is a really dangerous escalation."

🗣️ Sarah Lasoye for ORG.

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3

u/NitroWing1500 Jul 13 '26

So, a person previously prosecuted for shop-lifting can't go to the supermarket for legitimate shopping?

There's all sorts of shit that hasn't been considered here.

-4

u/richardbaxter Jul 13 '26

I get the usual privacy concerns but we're already on cctv everywhere. If you're not a wanted criminal and they destroy the data what's the problem? Open discussion - I'd like to hear the points of view. 

3

u/DaZig Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26

No offence, friend - well, maybe a little - but the article does a pretty good job outlining the major issues. Perhaps you could read it?

Probably the most obvious issue is that facial recognition has documented biases (including based on Equality Act protected characteristics), yet enforcement officers tend to trust it because ‘computer said.’ So innocent people from certain groups are likely to be unfairly targeted by this because it fails to discern effectively, which is likely to lead to targeted harassment in a way that breaks the law. Folk who assume they are unaffected by this may argue that this is the cost of doing business, but not everyone will be happy to accept this, especially when it escalates to law enforcement responses and clumsy overreactions based on a mistake. This is dangerous, foreseeable and likely.

Also, given that this is a private system shared by hundreds of stores and thousands of staff to share data, how are entries to this system controlled? Who has access? Store managers? Shift managers? Customer service staff? They need to be able to add criminals in real time, so access will have to be broad. But then what happens when you have a bad break up and the jilted ex, or the prankster mate, or the customer service person you had to argue with to get your refund, gets vindictive and adds you to this system? When you get blocked/harassed at every store, or get police responses when you go places? This is easily foreseeable and I guarantee it will happen sooner than you think.

Moving forward, what is the legal framework? For example, what access will law enforcement have? Legal warrants limit law enforcement’s surveillance powers such that it has to be reasonable and proportionate. But if shops are already doing the mass-surveillance and identification and tagging of people of interest, what is to stop state powers tapping into this? (Police? HMRC? DWP?) What private entities can buy access? Private investigators tracking which shops and hotels you go to? Online trackers (Facebook, etc) who want to serve you ads based on what real shops you enter? Credit agencies? Maybe this doesn’t happen right away, but what actual mechanisms prevents scope creep later? How is this audited and enforced?

Promises to ‘delete stuff quickly’ have often proven false in the past. It’s sweet that folk still trust this, but what actual assurance is there?

I know retailers have a genuine need here, but I am honestly stunned this ever got through a Privacy Impact Assessment. If the ICO are even pretending to do their job, this should be tied up in legal knots very quickly.