- Chief Compliance Officer and VP of Legal Affairs, Arrow Electronics
By 
Adrianne Appel2024-01-04T20:11:00
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was clear in its recent enforcement action against Rite Aid regarding its expectations for companies using facial recognition technology or any biometric security or surveillance systems.
The FTC filed a complaint against Rite Aid on Dec. 19, alleging the retail pharmacy chain used untested, inaccurate facial recognition technology to secretly surveil shoppers from 2012-20.
The misused technology resulted in thousands of people being misidentified as shoplifters, with a higher percentage of women, Blacks, Latinos, and Asians wrongly accused. Rite Aid staff sometimes harassed and publicly humiliated innocent shoppers and forced them to leave stores, including those who had wanted to fill necessary prescriptions, the FTC said.
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The lack of clear regulations and guidelines for the ethical use of facial recognition technology further exacerbates concerns of discriminatory practices and potential infringements on human rights.
Retail pharmacy chain Rite Aid agreed to a five-year ban on its use of facial recognition technology for surveillance purposes as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
Businesses that make false or unsubstantiated claims regarding facial recognition and other biometric technologies could face enforcement from the Federal Trade Commission, the agency warned in a policy statement.
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Experian, the credit reporting giant, let compliance slide when it came to addressing consumer complaints about incorrect data, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in a lawsuit against the credit agency.
