Asda has launched a two-month trial of live facial recognition at five of its shops in Greater Manchester. The technology, provided by FaiceTech, will be integrated into the stores’ existing CCTV networks. The trial has been met with outrage online with the hashtag #StopAsdaSpying, which was started by the privacy rights campaign group Big Brother Watch, trending on social media. Big Brother Watch’s Senior Advocacy Officer Madeleine Stone said:
“Asda is adding customers to secret watchlists with no due process, meaning people could be blacklisted despite being innocent.
“Facial recognition is dangerously out of control in the UK. Asda should abandon this trial and the government must urgently step in to prevent the unchecked spread of this invasive technology.”
ITV News – Live facial recognition: Why is Asda’s trial of the technology causing a stir?
The Telegraph – Asda launches facial recognition CCTV in stores
Tortoise – Asda trials facial recognition to catch shoplifters and staff abusers