TechRadar – Victims expose the reality of facial recognition use in shops

Big Brother Watch Team / October 30, 2026

Civil liberties group Big Brother Watch brought together victims of facial recognition tech in Parliament to tell their stories of being wrongly blacklisted by Sainsbury’s and other shops.

One victim shared that her husband was left “shaking from head to toe” after she was falsely accused of being a criminal in a shop using this face-scanning tech.

The group invited the CEO of Sainsbury’s and private facial recognition firm Facewatch – neither turned up to the meeting.

“Sainsbury’s is happy to scan its customers’ faces but won’t face the people its technology has harmed,” said Jack Coulson, head of advocacy at Big Brother Watch.

TechRadar – too scared to shop: How facial recognition leaves innocent UK shoppers stranded

Metro – Low-paid shopworkers ‘forced to put themselves in danger for facial recognition cameras’

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