Facial recognition technology: OAIC updates privacy guidance for retail and public settings
Australia's Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has updated its privacy guidance covering the use of facial recognition technology in retail and public environments. The updated guidance addresses how organizations operating in these settings should handle the collection and use of biometric data.
Why this matters: Facial recognition in shops and public spaces is not a future problem. It is happening now, often without people knowing they are being scanned. The OAIC updating its guidance means regulators are trying to catch up with technology that retailers have already deployed. What matters is whether the guidance has teeth. Soft guidance lets businesses run facial recognition on customers while calling it compliance. Shoppers generally have no idea their face is being matched against a database just because they walked into a store.
Who should care: Lawyers · Compliance · Privacy officers · Cybersecurity · General readers · Policy
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