"A ruling last week in Australia makes using facial recognition to combat fraud almost impossible and is the latest example of global regulators' growing disapproval of biometric technology in retail environments. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) determined that Kmart Australia Limited had violated the country's Privacy Act 1988 when it used facial recognition to prevent return fraud and theft."
"At question was a Kmart pilot program that had placed facial recognition technology (FRT) in 28 of the company's retail locations from June 2020 through July 2022. The company created a face print, if you will, of every shopper entering one of the pilot program stores. When a customer returned an item, Kmart's system would compare that person's face print to a list of known thieves and fraudsters."
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) determined Kmart Australia Limited violated the Privacy Act 1988 by using facial recognition across 28 stores in a pilot from June 2020 to July 2022. Kmart generated face prints of every shopper and compared returns to a list of known thieves and fraudsters to prevent return fraud and protect employees. Biometrics are treated as a specially protected category under Australian law. A similar OAIC determination targeted Bunnings in November 2024. The OAIC said consent is required for FRT use and visible signage did not establish consent, making practical deployment highly difficult.
Read at Practical Ecommerce
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