A recent report by Australia’s leading consumer group CHOICE has revealed that Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys are all using facial recognition technology in their stores, mostly without shoppers realising.
But what is Facial Recognition Technology and how does it work?
Many of us use it to unlock our phone, log in to apps, and make purchases – and we know that Government agencies are using it to identify terrorists or other bad guys – and indeed facial recognition has become a widespread and routine policing tool in the US.
However, privacy advocates are concerned about the creeping use of facial recognition tools without widespread public discussion or sufficient rules to monitor its rapid progression into the retail sphere.
And the Australian public is mostly oblivious of what’s happening to the capture and use of their personal biometric data.
Bunnings say its usage discourages poor behaviour and is an anti-theft tool. But how?
What happens to the information? Who looks after the data? Who can access it? What are the legal ramifications of capturing and storing our biometric data? Especially when that information is taken without our knowledge or consent…
Should we be able to own our own biometric data? What are the associated privacy issues?
To discuss this I’m joined by Amy Pereira – senior Policy Advisor from Choice…
More: Federal and state governments must engage with civil society, industry, other experts and the public in a transparent process to put these constraints in place before this technology gets beyond our capacity to control it. David Paris in The Guardian
EARLIER: https://radicalhack.com/blog/facial-recognition-technology-interview-with-rick-sarre/