BBC – Woman falsely accused of theft in a Home Bargains store using facial recognition

Big Brother Watch Team / June 14, 2025

A woman in Manchester was FALSELY accused of stealing toilet roll in a Home Bargains store using facial recognition provided by Facewatch.

Ms Danielle Horan is one of over 35 people who have been in touch with privacy and civil liberties group Big Brother Watch after being
wrongly flagged by facial recognition technology.

The group’s senior advocacy officer Madeleine Stone said: “Historically in Britain, we have a history that you are innocent until proven guilty but when an algorithm, a camera and a facial recognition system gets involved, you are guilty.”

Big Brother Watch are calling on the UK Government to ban facial recognition use in shops.

BBC – Woman mistaken for thief after shop face scan alert

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