Sainsbury's expands facial recognition use to combat shoplifting

Sainsbury's, the UK's second-largest supermarket, is significantly increasing its use of facial recognition technology across its stores to deter shoplifters. The move, which will see the technology deployed in up to 200 locations by the end of 2026, has drawn criticism from privacy advocates who deem it a violation of privacy rights, as first reported by The Register.

The supermarket chain is tripling the number of stores utilizing facial recognition, expanding from over 55 current locations to a projected 200 by year-end. Sainsbury's claims the system, provided by Facewatch, has been effective, with 90% of identified individuals not returning to the stores. This expansion follows trials that began last year.

Privacy campaigners, including Big Brother Watch, have labeled the deployment "shameful" and a serious threat to privacy, urging shoppers to boycott the supermarket. Concerns have been amplified by incidents such as a shopper being wrongly ejected from a store due to a facial recognition alert, highlighting potential inaccuracies and the impact on innocent customers.

Despite apologies and promises of staff training following such errors, critics argue that mass surveillance is not a justifiable response to shoplifting and that innocent shoppers should not be subjected to such identity checks.
Source: The Register

Written by

Kelley Damore Chief Content Officer CyberRisk Alliance

Kelley Damore is Chief Content Officer at CyberRisk Alliance, where she leads content strategy across the company’s digital brands, research, communities and live events serving CISOs and security practitioners. At CyberRisk Alliance, she is focused on delivering 365-day engagement, trusted journalism and actionable insights to help security leaders navigate an increasingly complex threat landscape.