Man falsely accused of shoplifting after facial recognition error
3 days ago
- #retail
- #privacy
- #facial recognition
- Byron Long, 66, was falsely accused of shoplifting by B&M due to a facial recognition error.
- B&M apologized and offered a £25 voucher, which Mr. Long rejected, citing worsened mental health.
- Facewatch, the facial recognition company, called it a 'human error, not a failure of the technology'.
- Big Brother Watch filed a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office on Mr. Long's behalf.
- Mr. Long expressed concerns about the lack of due process and the potential for similar errors affecting others.
- Facewatch's system matches faces against known offenders and alerts staff, who then verify the match.
- B&M removed Mr. Long's data and reiterated compliance with UK GDPR, calling such incidents rare.
- Critics argue facial recognition in retail is intrusive, prone to error, and lacks proper oversight.
- The UK government stated facial recognition must comply with data protection laws and be used proportionately.