Shoppers planning to take advantage of Memorial Day sales should know which stores are using racist, dangerous surveillance technology.
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Fight for the Future - News - 2021-05-25-new-report-and-scorecard-shows-which-retailers-are

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2021-05-26 23:00:03

Shoppers planning to take advantage of Memorial Day sales should know which stores are using racist, dangerous surveillance technology.

Digital rights group Fight for the Future has launched a new website and scorecard that tracks whether or not top retailers use, don’t use, or might use facial recognition on people in their stores. Walmart, Albertsons, Kroger, Lowes, and Macy’s are among the stores flagged as using facial recognition on shoppers and workers. Walgreens, McDonald’s, 7-11, and Best Buy are among retailers that have not clarified their policies. Home Depot, Target, Costco, CVS, Dollar Tree, and Verizon confirmed to Fight for the Future that they are not using facial recognition in their stores.

Walmart says it uses the technology to reduce shoplifting. An Albertsons in Albuquerque used facial recognition on a shopper who had allegedly stolen from the store in the past. And Kroger, Lowes, and Macy’s have all faced lawsuits for using facial recognition in stores in Illinois, where the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act makes it illegal to do so without consent.

"People deserve to know if a store is using invasive and biased surveillance technology to discriminate against customers and employees, and with so many major retailers using or potentially using the technology no one is safe," said Caitlin Seeley George (she/her), campaign director at Fight for the Future. "It may seem futuristic, but the reality is that stores can track every move you make, sync video with data about your income, past purchases, and other behaviors, then make decisions about how much to charge you, how to treat you, and even whether or not to allow you into the store. These practices are unfair, augment bias, and are an invasion of your privacy."

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