Prohibition of Facial Recognition Imposed on American Pharmacies Following Multiple Misidentification Incidents in Theft Detectors

There is an interesting news regarding the use of technology in businesses, which has become a chaotic situation that requires intervention from authorities. Rite Aid, a pharmacy with multiple branches across America, has received complaints from customers, leading to negotiations with the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

According to the FTC, Rite Aid has been using facial recognition technology in their stores since 2012-2020 to identify individuals with a history of shoplifting or other criminal activities. The store employees can coordinate with local law enforcement if needed.

However, the problem lies in the faulty functioning of Rite Aid’s system, which often falsely identifies individuals. There have been numerous cases of complaints, with details revealing that the system commonly misidentifies black or Asian individuals.

Rite Aid’s system was developed by undisclosed companies, utilizing databases from various sources, such as closed-circuit camera footage, license plates, or government identification numbers. These databases contain information on tens of thousands of suspected individuals, but the quality of the original data is often unclear, resulting in frequent misidentifications.

As a result of the negotiations, Rite Aid, currently a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing company, has agreed to a settlement with the FTC. The agreement includes a five-year ban on the use of facial recognition technology in their stores. If the company fails to mitigate the risks, they will be permanently prohibited from utilizing the technology. Rite Aid claims to be satisfied with this agreement, stating that they only used the system in a few branches and have ceased its use as soon as the FTC began their investigation.

TLDR: Pharmacy chain Rite Aid faced complaints regarding their use of facial recognition technology, which resulted in numerous false identifications and targeting of individuals based on race. After negotiations with the FTC, Rite Aid agreed to a settlement banning the use of the technology in their stores for five years. Failure to manage risks could lead to a permanent ban on the technology.