Asda has received more than 5,000 complaints over its use of “Orwellian” live facial recognition technology.
Some 5,425 emails have been sent to the supermarket as part of a campaign by Big Brother Watch, which dubbed the trial “deeply disproportionate and chilling”.
Last month, Asda announced a facial recognition tech trial at five of its Greater Manchester stores. The trial – at its supermarkets in Ashton, Chadderton, Eastlands, Harpurhey and Trafford Park – involves customer faces, picked up on CCTV, being scanned and compared against individuals on an internal watchlist. The watchlist, compiled by Asda, is made up of individuals staff suspect have been involved in “theft, violence and/or fraud in Asda stores”, though they may not be convicted of any crime.
If a match is found by the automated system, a member of the Asda head office security team conducts a check and feeds an alert back to the store in real time in a matter of seconds, the supermarket said.
The trial – which uses technology provided by Altrincham-based FaiceTech – “turns shoppers into suspects, by subjecting customers browsing the supermarket aisles to a series of biometric identity checks” Big Brother Watch’s senior advocacy officer Madeleine Stone said.
“Asda is adding customers to a secret watchlist with no due process, meaning people could be blacklisted from their local shop despite being innocent,” she told The Grocer. “Facial recognition has well-documented issues with accuracy and bias, and has already led to distressing and embarrassing cases of innocent shoppers being publicly branded as shoplifters.”
The group said its social media campaign saw the hashtag #StopAsdaSpying trending on Twitter.
Asda did not respond to Big Brother Watch’s complaint when approached by The Grocer.
“The rise in shoplifting and threats and violence against shopworkers in recent years is unacceptable and as a responsible retailer we have to look at all options to reduce the number of offences committed in our stores and protect our colleagues,” said Liz Evans, chief commercial officer – non-food and retail at Asda, when the trial launched.
“We consistently look for new ways to improve the security in our stores and this trial will help us understand if facial recognition technology can reduce the number of incidents and provide greater protection to everybody in our stores,” she added at the time.
Asda’s trial stores have signage explaining that facial recognition software is in use. This is mandated by the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). However, Mark Hodgson, VP of The Association of British Investigators, told The Grocer Asda’s trial and others like it raised “ethical questions”.
“A key concern is whether customers are giving meaningful consent,” he said. “If facial recognition is implemented without a clear opt-out mechanism, there are ethical questions about individual autonomy and informed choice.”
Asda is not the only grocery retailer using facial recognition technology in their efforts to curb crime.
Home Bargains, Southern Co-op, Budgens, Costcutter and several independent convenience stores use similar technology from Facewatch. The Facewatch system, unlike FaiceTech’s, relies on a national database shared by multiple retailers.
A Morrisons Daily store owner in Northampton using Facewatch said crime in his store had dropped by 90% since it was installed in 2023, creating “a safer environment for my staff”. As well as alerts sent to staff and managers on their phones, the store has linked the alarm to a loud bluetooth speaker by the front door as a deterrent to prolific offenders.
Facewatch’s tech has seen innocent individuals wrongly flagged as shoplifters. Last year the company faced a legal challenge from a 19-year-old who was confronted and thrown out of a Home Bargains store in Manchester after the system alerted staff to her presence. The Information Commissioner’s Office has investigated Facewatch, finding areas of concern it said had been responded to through improvements to the product.
Southern Co-op has also faced legal complaints over its use of the tech. ”As long as it continues to prevent violent attacks, then we believe its use is justified,” the retailer said at the time.
The increasing use of facial recognition technology in grocery comes at a time of rising retail crime. According to the BRC, there are more than 2,000 incidents of violence and abuse against shopworkers every day, a threefold increase since 2020.
Asda said last year saw more than 1,400 assaults against Asda colleagues and crime was costing the supermarket £500m a year, both in terms of product stolen and the security measures employed to deter shoplifters.
But some have expressed doubts as to the effectiveness of facial recognition in tackling the problem.
“While retailers like Asda argue that facial recognition can deter repeat offenders, the overall effectiveness of such measures remains uncertain,” Hodgson said. “The potential for normalising mass surveillance in everyday settings cannot be overlooked. If implemented widely, this technology could set a precedent for extensive facial recognition tracking, raising significant concerns over civil liberties and privacy.
“Improved staffing, store layouts that minimise theft opportunities, and AI-powered theft detection that does not involve biometric data collection could all be more effective,” he added.
Big Brother Watch called on Asda to immediately abandon its trial.
“Facial recognition is dangerously out of control in the UK,” Stone said.
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