Big Brother can see your purchases. The series uses facial recognition software

The Southern Co-Op chain operates around two hundred grocery stores across southern England, of which 35 in Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Bristol, Brighton, Hove, Chester, Southampton and London have installed a camera system that can recognize faces using special software.

The camera captures the faces of everyone who enters the store. The system instantly compares their biometric data with the faces of those who have stolen something in the store or committed another crime in the past. This shopper can then be prevented from entering by the security guard.

However, the nonprofit organization Big Brother Watch, which deals with civil liberties and privacy, does not like these practices. Activists even turned to the authorities with a complaint.

The chain advocates that it only uses facial recognition in stores where there have been robberies in the past, to protect its employees. “We only have facial recognition cameras in high crime stores,” The company said.

The purpose is to identify the known offender as soon as he enters it. “This gives employees time to decide what action to take, such as politely asking them to leave the store premises,” the company said.

Orwellian practices

“Our legal complaint is a critical step in protecting the privacy rights of the thousands of people affected by this dangerous harassing spying,” the newspaper quoted it as saying. Watchman Silky Carla’s lyrics.

“The use of technology that recognizes human faces in real time is a very Orwellian use, and it is very likely illegal, and the authorities must stop these practices immediately,” Karlova added.

The Southern Co-Op said it would welcome any constructive feedback from the authorities. “We take our facial recognition responsibility very seriously and work hard to balance the rights of our customers with the need to protect our colleagues and customers from unacceptable actions,” the chain said.