Sainsbury’s has apologised to a shopper after they were ejected from a store due to a mix-up with workers and the shop’s facial recognition system.
Warren Rajah was visiting the retailer’s Elephant and Castle store, in south London, when he was confronted by employees and told he had been flagged by the shop’s facial recognition system, reported the BBC.
The 42-year-old tech worker claimed that he was then escorted from the store by staff.
When Rajah asked why, he was directed to a poster in the store’s window about its use of facial recognition and told to contact Facewatch.
When he contacted Facewatch, the business said that he was not on its database, claiming “Facewatch did not play any part in [him] being approached at the store”.
Rajah was redirected to the supermarket, which apologised and offered him a £75 shopping voucher.
The Elephant and Castle store comprises one of six in London where the grocery giant has recently launched Facewatch technology.
Facewatch later informed Rajah that there were “no incidents or alerts associated with [him]” on its database, and Sainsbury’s has apologised for the “human error.”
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A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We have been in contact with Mr Rajah to sincerely apologise for his experience in our Elephant and Castle store.
“This was not an issue with the facial recognition technology in use but a case of the wrong person being approached in store.”
The supermarket added that nobody had been falsely identified by Facewatch and this was its first instance of a shopper being wrongly approached by a store manager.
Speaking to the BBC, Rajah said: “Am I supposed to walk around fearful that I might be misidentified as a criminal?”
He added: “Imagine how mentally debilitating this could be to someone vulnerable, after that kind of public humiliation.”
Big Brother Watch legal and policy officer Jasleen Chaggar said that her company “regularly hears from members of the public who are left traumatised after being wrongly caught in this net of privatised biometric surveillance”.
The Information Commissioner’s Office said: “Retailers should carefully consider the risks of misidentification and have robust procedures in place to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the personal information they collect and process.”
Speaking to the BBC, Sainsbury’s said management in its Elephant and Castle store would be receiving additional training.
Retail Gazette has approached Sainsbury’s for comment.
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