Protest in Ashton against Asda’s new facial recognition trial amid privacy fears

The worlds largest ad van was seen outside of Asda in Ashton this afternoon (21st May) as part of the Stop Asda Spying campaign.

The action follows on from the live facial recognition surveillance trial that Asda is carrying out until the end of the month.

Ashton and Chadderton are just two of the five stores in Greater Manchester carrying out the two-month trial.

The facial recognition is hoping to improve colleague and customer safety in store after more than 1,400 assaults against Asda colleagues recorded last year.

Privacy rights group Big Brother Watch has filed a legal complaint with the Information Commissioner arguing that Asda’s use of live facial recognition cameras in its supermarkets is “unlawful”. The legal complaint claims that Asda “is infringing the data rights” of shoppers and calls on the Commissioner to halt the retailer’s use of the technology.

The legal complaint outlines how the system, sold by surveillance firm FaiceTech, is processing “data with a high degree of risk to data subjects’ rights for private benefit”. The supermarket chain has installed the controversial surveillance technology in five stores in Ashton-Under-Lyne, Chadderton, Eastlands, Harpurhey and Trafford Park as part of a trial. Asda is the first UK-wide supermarket to install live facial recognition.

In the legal complaint, Big Brother Watch argues that this biometric surveillance poses “significant” risks to shoppers’ rights and freedoms.

Madeleine Stone, Senior Advocacy Officer at Big Brother Watch said: “Asda’s decision to trial Orwellian facial recognition technology in its shops is deeply disproportionate and chilling, and risks violating the privacy rights of thousands of people. Facial recognition surveillance turns shoppers into suspects by subjecting customers browsing the supermarket aisles to a series of invasive biometric identity checks.

“We believe Asda’s use of live facial recognition surveillance is likely to be unlawful and have filed this legal complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office urging the data regulator to investigate and urgently halt Asda’s trial.

“Facial recognition is inaccurate and dangerously out of control in the UK. Its use is proliferating across police forces and the private sector alike, all with no specific legislative basis. Asda should abandon this trial, and the government must urgently step in to prevent the unchecked spread of this invasive technology.”

According to Asda’s privacy policy, staff do not receive or give photos from or to the police. Rather, the supermarket uses the biometric profiles of certain shoppers to create an alert if they enter a store and shares these profiles, along with allegations of unwanted conduct, between stores. Big Brother Watch’s complaint states that Asda’s facial recognition would have a “profound impact on the data rights of tens of millions of people” if rolled out across Asda’s stores across the UK.

Other retailers have faced legal complaint over their use of live facial recognition. Live facial recognition installed in a Manchester Home Bargains shop wrongly flagged 19-year-old “Sara” (not her real name) as a suspected shoplifter. Home Bargains employees searched Sara, publicly threw her out of the store, and falsely accused her of being a thief – which Big Brother Watch has called "disturbing" and a "total inversion of [the] most basic civil liberties."

Live facial recognition has been the subject of growing controversy in recent years, with moves in the US and EU to ban its use for public surveillance. Research shows that the technology can be highly inaccurate, particularly with people of colour and women.

An Asda spokesperson has told the Reporter: “Like all retailers, our stores are subject to unprecedented levels of retail crime and on average four Asda colleagues were assaulted at work every day last year. We have launched this trial in five stores for a limited period to assess how it can keep colleagues and customers safe. This trial uses Asda’s existing CCTV system and fully complies with all data protection regulations.”