4 Apr 2024, 13:00

Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster has today started his Inquiry into Foodstuffs North Island’s trial of facial recognition technology (FRT) in 25 of its supermarkets.

The Inquiry is designed to monitor the way stores are running the trial to ensure that it is compliant with the Privacy Act. It will also inform the Commissioner’s assessment of the effectiveness of the use of FRT in reducing harmful behaviour in Foodstuffs North Island supermarkets once the trial is completed.

Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster says: “At the end of the six-month trial I will be assessing the evidence that the use of FRT is justified. Has it made a practical and statistically significant difference to the incidence of retail crime in Foodstuffs North Island supermarkets relative to other less intrusive options?

“Using facial recognition technology to reduce harmful behaviour in supermarkets raises significant privacy risks and the trial is itself not without risk. That is why I will be paying close attention to the privacy safeguards being used during the trial using my Inquiry powers.

The Inquiry will monitor things like:

• the privacy and data protection safeguards and controls stores have in place, how they are being used in practice and whether they are sufficient to manage risks
• whether people having their faces scanned are confident that their data is being used safely (for example, how are they told about the trial, can they appeal being added to a watchlist)
• whether any bias or accuracy issues are occuring
• staff training
• what happens in the store after the system creates an alert that someone on the watchlist has been identified.

The work won’t get in the way of customers doing their supermarket shopping or impact the ability of the stores to take appropriate action to keep staff and customers safe.

“The use of this technology could have significant implications in retail in Aotearoa New Zealand. There is no known other current use of facial recognition technology in the retail sector in New Zealand. Its use generally across New Zealand to scan and identify an individual in real time and compare them against a database of faces is rare.”

Where FRT is used it tends to be in situations where an individual is seeking to verify their identity to access a device or a service, and not an essential service such as a supermarket. As such there is high public interest in the operation and outcome of this trial.

The Commissioner is also keen to hear from the public, particularly customers of the participating trial stores, about if and how the trial is impacting them. They can provide comment to us at FRTinquiry@privacy.org.nz.

The Privacy Commissioner is conducting the Inquiry under section 17(1)(i) of the Privacy Act 2020. 

The list of stores particpating in the trial can be seen here

Terms of Reference

Terms of Reference for this Inquiry PDF document
Terms of Reference for this Inquiry Word document