In democracies, facial recognition is gaining ground in the face of a legislative vacuum.
Facial Recognition Technology Misidentifies Woman as Shoplifter in UK Stores
On May 24th, Danielle Horan planned a quick trip to Home Bargains, a discount store selling household goods in Salford, near Manchester. However, upon reaching the checkout, she was informed that she had to leave the store immediately because she was on a list of shoplifters and her face had been identified by a facial recognition camera. “Everyone was staring at me, I was mortified,” says the 50-year-old owner of a hair salon.
Eleven days later, the same scene repeated itself in another Home Bargains store in Manchester. “The manager told me I was banned from all stores in the chain,” she explains. It was only after several days of email exchanges with Facewatch, the company that provides the technology, that she learned the system had falsely accused her of stealing toilet paper rolls worth about £10 (approximately €12).
Among democratic states, the United Kingdom has pushed the use of facial recognition the furthest. “All police forces use it, with a marked increase since 2023,” notes Daragh Murray, a specialist in new technologies and human rights at Queen Mary University of London.
The incident raises concerns about the accuracy and potential for misidentification in facial recognition systems, as well as the impact on individuals wrongly accused of crimes.
Enjoyed this post by Thibault Helle? Subscribe for more insights and updates straight from the source.
