Australia’s privacy laws are not keeping up with the growing use of facial recognition technology (FRT) and academics and privacy advocates are concerned.
Earlier this year, major retailers Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys came under fire for their use of facial recognition technology in stores without first gaining customers’ consent.
The stores claimed the technology was used to identify theft, antisocial behaviour and known ‘problem’ customers. But there were widespread concerns the data could be used for marketing and other purposes.
After a community outcry, all three retailers ‘paused’ their use of the technology but reaffirmed that it was entirely legal.
Read: Would you use your face to make payments?
The Human Technology Institute (HTI), a University of Technology Sydney (UTS) thinktank, is proposing a new set of laws to balance the rights of consumers and businesses.
The proposal seeks to add a ‘Model Law’ to existing privacy legislation that would require any establishment using FRT to first assess the ‘level of human rights risk’.
This would include examining how the FRT would function, where and how it is used, the performance or accuracy of the technology, the effect of any decisions made using FRT data and whether consumers could provide free and informed consent.
Read: Centrelink facial ID fears grow
The proposed law would classify the use of FRT in retail settings as high risk and prohibit it unless exemptions were granted by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
UTS Professor Edward Santow, co-author of the proposal and a former Australian human rights commissioner, says the legal update is long overdue.
“Australian privacy law is a bit like Swiss cheese,” he says.
“There are so many gaps in that law, and it doesn’t effectively protect people from harmful uses of facial recognition.
“The law was never crafted with widespread facial recognition use in mind and we need a specific law to address it.”
Read: Half of online privacy policies unreadable, CHOICE says
The initial alarm over the use of FRT was raised by consumer group CHOICE. Not surprisingly, CHOICE has come out strongly in support of the proposed law.
Kate Bower, consumer data advocate at CHOICE, says the proposal provides much-needed clarity in the data protection area.
“We need a specific, fit-for-purpose law to protect consumers from the harms that can occur without proper and clear regulation,” she says.
“The use of facial recognition technology will only continue to grow, so we need to regulate it now to prevent further harm to consumers. This is an opportunity for the federal government to implement an innovative, sorely needed piece of legislation to protect the safety and privacy of Australians.”
Would you be comfortable shopping if you knew you were being watched? Or does it not make much difference to you? Let us know in the comments section below.
I couldn’t care less if I am on video while shopping. The ones who do care are the shoplifters who are out of control these days and costing honest people dearly because shops have to lift prices to cover losses.