Commercial Facial Recognition: Retail, False Accusations, Clearview AI
Retail Facial Recognition
Rite Aid — FTC Action (December 2023)
Deployed facial recognition in hundreds of stores, disproportionately in predominantly Black and Asian communities. FTC banned Rite Aid from using facial recognition for five years. Findings: system generated false-positive matches leading to employees wrongly accusing, following, or calling police on customers. Rite Aid failed to test for racial or gender bias and ignored known inaccuracies.
Other Retailers
- Walmart: tested facial recognition, reportedly ended use ~2020
- Albertsons, Macy’s, Lowe’s: identified in reports as having tested or deployed
- UK: Southern Co-op investigated by Information Commissioner’s Office over live facial recognition cameras
False Arrests Based on Facial Recognition
| Person | Location | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Williams | Detroit | Jan 2020 | Arrested at home, faulty match to shoplifting case. Held ~30 hours. Case dismissed. Filed lawsuit against Detroit PD. |
| Nijeer Parks | Woodbridge, NJ | 2019 | Wrongly accused of shoplifting and assault. 10 days in jail. Nearly 3 years fighting charges before dismissal. |
| Porcha Woodruff | Detroit | Aug 2023 | 8 months pregnant, arrested for robbery/carjacking based on FR match. Detained ~11 hours, experienced physical distress. Charges dismissed. Filed lawsuit. |
| Randal Reid | Arrested GA, warrant from Jefferson Parish LA | Nov 2022 | Detained for purse theft in state he’d never visited. FR match was basis. Held nearly a week before warrant dropped. |
All individuals wrongly identified were Black. NIST (2019): many facial recognition algorithms have significantly higher error rates for Black faces, particularly Black women.
Madison Square Garden / MSG Entertainment (2022+)
Used facial recognition to identify and eject attorneys from firms in litigation against MSG. Cases:
- Barbara Hart: identified and removed from Rockettes show at Radio City Music Hall
- Kelly Conlon: ejected from MSG despite no personal involvement in any case — her firm was in litigation with MSG
NY state legislators introduced bills to restrict the practice. NY State Liquor Authority investigated whether policy violated MSG’s liquor license terms.
Clearview AI
Built facial recognition database by scraping 30+ billion images from social media and open web without consent. Sells access primarily to law enforcement.
Legal Actions
- ACLU sued under Illinois BIPA; 2022 settlement restricting Clearview’s sales to private companies nationwide
- UK: fined by ICO
- France (CNIL): 20 million euro fine
- Italy (Garante): 20 million euro fine
- Australia, Canada, Greece: ordered to delete data or fined
Sources
- FTC order re: Rite Aid (December 2023)
- NIST Face Recognition Vendor Test (2019)
- ACLU v. Clearview AI (Illinois BIPA, 2022 settlement)
- NYT, Washington Post, Detroit Free Press reporting on false arrest cases