US pharmacy Rite Aid faces 5-year ban on facial recognition

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has mandated a five-year prohibition on Rite Aid’s utilization of facial recognition technology.

The regulatory body alleges that the pharmacy giant wrongly identified consumers as shoplifters, raising critical concerns about the potential misuse and discrimination associated with artificial intelligence.

From 2012 to 2020, Rite Aid employed facial recognition systems to identify repeated shoplifting offenders and other undesirable behavior. However, the technology reportedly “falsely flagged” innocent consumers, erroneously associating them with individuals previously marked as troublemakers.

Samuel Levine, the Director of Consumer Harms at the FTC, expressed deep concern, stating, “Rite Aid’s reckless use of facial surveillance systems left its customers facing humiliation and other harms.”

The fallout from this case highlights broader apprehensions regarding the unchecked expansion of artificial intelligence, particularly in the realm of facial recognition, where misidentifications and biases, especially against non-whites and women, are significant issues.

Apart from the ban, the FTC has mandated the immediate deletion of all data related to Rite Aid’s facial recognition program, emphasizing the need for erasing any traces of potential privacy infringements.

The regulatory order also spotlighted Rite Aid’s failure to adequately train employees about the possibility of false positives and to prevent the use of low-quality images.

Currently navigating bankruptcy proceedings, Rite Aid responded to the regulatory action, stating, “We are pleased to reach an agreement with the FTC and put this matter behind us.”

The incident underscores the evolving legal landscape surrounding the deployment of facial recognition technology and raises questions about its ethical use in businesses and public spaces.