WASHINGTON: A US regulator on Tuesday banned pharmacy group Rite Aid from using facial recognition for the next five years after misuse of the technology.
The case pertains to one of the main concerns about the use of artificial intelligence, and facial recognition in particular for misidentification or discriminate against individuals, especially non-whites and women.
Director of consumer harms at the Federal Trade Commission, Samuel Levine has said Rite Aid’s reckless use of facial surveillance systems left its customers facing humiliation and other issues.
According to FTC from 2012 to 2020, Rite Aid installed facial recognition technology to stop shoplifting offenders and other problematic behaviors.
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However, the technology falsely identified some of the consumers as shoplifters or other trouble maker.
The pharmacy group, which is already facing bankruptcy proceedings, also failed to properly train employees to use the technology or to prevent the use of low-quality images.
The FTC also ordered the group to delete all data connected to its program.
