00:00:00:03 - 00:00:02:16 I don't like Big Brother. I don't like all this. 00:00:02:17 - 00:00:05:13 No, I think it's inappropriate and a little bit creepy. 00:00:05:13 - 00:00:09:11 And it's outrageous and completely put me off coming here, so I'm going somewhere else. 00:00:09:12 - 00:00:27:22 We're here today outside Southern Co-op in West London, where in conjunction with Facewatch they're using live facial recognition technology to scan the faces of all the shoppers who go in there. Although they claim that shoppers have been adequately warned with the tiny sticker out the front, we don't think that's good enough. We're really concerned about the normalisation of intrusive and dystopian surveillance. 00:00:28:03 - 00:00:38:12 That's why we've written a detailed legal complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office about this technology, and they're now investigating. I've just told you that this store is using live facial recognition. How do you feel about that? 00:00:38:14 - 00:00:53:13 I don't feel particularly good about it because we read in the news a lot about how certain communities get profiled a little bit more than others. So even if you don't feel like it's a problem for you, it can be a problem for others who maybe don't have the voice to stand up for it. 00:00:53:18 - 00:00:54:22 You don't like facial recognition? 00:00:55:02 - 00:00:57:22 No, absolutely not. 00:00:57:23 - 00:01:03:03 I just pulled up to go into Co-op. I'm not going in there now. I didn't know that was happening. And I think they should let us know as well. 00:01:03:06 - 00:01:05:20 It’s a very, very small sticker, but it's not really enough. 00:01:05:24 - 00:01:08:06 Exactly. Don't make no sense. I'm not with it. 00:01:08:14 - 00:01:19:05 I don't see that they’re actually telling people that they're actually doing that. And if they are doing that, that's an infringement of our rights. I mean, there's enough Big Brother around 00:01:19:08 - 00:01:30:01 It's very, very bad, actually. Very bad. It is uncomfortable for other people and myself, actually. Right. But this is wrong. They shouldn't be doing that. I don't believe in that. 00:01:30:03 - 00:01:39:04 Well, I think as a private company, I don't think they should be allowed to do that, because that is my personal information. And, you know, I mean, my picture is my picture and they should have my permission to be able to do that. 00:01:39:06 - 00:01:45:08 Absolutely. Would it make you less likely to go and shop in a co-op after this? Well, definitely, yes. I’ll go to Tesco. 00:01:45:10 - 00:01:52:05 Shouldn't be allowed to be against the law as private as privacy. Absolutely. A violation of privacy. 00:01:52:05 - 00:01:54:03 Would it make you less likely to want to use it, though? 00:01:54:06 - 00:01:56:02 Yeah, definitely 100%. 00:01:56:04 - 00:02:09:05 Nah man, this is wrong. Seriously. The police already have done things to do that. That's to catch actual criminals. This is a shop. Normal cameras for normal people. No face recognition. Seriously man it’s wrong. It's wrong and it needs to stop. 00:02:09:06 - 00:02:15:12 It's just not on really. Where's my privacy and everything? So no, thanks for flagging up with me. 00:02:15:14 - 00:02:42:13 We've spent this afternoon talking to shoppers outside the co-op, had some really great conversations, and so many people were really alarmed to learn that they're using facial recognition to scan the faces of shoppers in there. Not only are they using live facial recognition, but on closer inspection, we've seen that they're using hikvision cameras as well. Hikvision is a Chinese state owned surveillance camera company and their cameras oversee detention camps in Xinjiang, where millions of Uyghur Muslims are detained and routinely tortured. 00:02:42:15 - 00:02:59:14 Their cameras are also all over the Xinjiang region, where they monitor every aspect of Uyghur Muslims’ lives. We've written a template letter that you can send to the head of Southern Co-op to let him know that you don't support this kind of intrusive surveillance on the British high streets. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel and other social media. 00:02:59:16 - 00:03:04:13 Don't forget to like and leave a comment. And the best way to help our work is to become a Big Brother Watch supporter. 00:03:04:17 - 00:03:06:20 And help the fight back against the surveillance state.