AI facial recognition in England wrongly accuses customers of theft

Cases are increasing in England of AI-powered facial recognition systems used in stores mistakenly flagging customers as thieves. People wrongly removed from stores must provide more personal data to clear their names.

AI-powered facial recognition systems used in retail stores in England are leading to innocent customers being accused of theft. In cases compiled by technology website TechRadar, people wrongly flagged described their experiences as deeply distressing and an invasion of privacy.

A woman referred to as Mary said the system flagged her husband as a thief when he entered a Home Bargains store to buy vitamins. The couple were removed from the store by management before they even had the chance to challenge the decision; according to the woman, her husband withdrew from social life after the incident.

A police vehicle carrying a live facial recognition system in London (archive)

In another case, a woman removed from a store belonging to the Budgens chain was accused of having stolen “a large amount of meat” days earlier. Her husband said they had not set foot in the store for months and described how he was “shaking from head to toe” after the incident.

Although an appeals process exists for those wrongly accused, it is lengthy and exhausting; people must provide more personal information to private companies to clear their names. Jack Coulson, head of advocacy at civil liberties group Big Brother Watch, described the situation as “a Kafkaesque nightmare”: “You are trapped in a labyrinth of bureaucracy and forced to provide even more personal data just to find out what you are being accused of.”