Bunnings' facial recognition tech breached Australians' privacy: OAIC
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The news: Bunnings has breached Australians' privacy by using facial recognition technology, the privacy watchdog has found.
The numbers: The facial recognition system captured the faces of every person who entered 63 Bunnings stores in Victoria and New South Wales between November 2018 and November 2021, according to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
The total figure is likely to be hundreds of thousands of individuals.
The context: The OAIC's investigation into Bunnings began in July 2022, at which time the retailer paused its use of facial recognition technology.
Under Bunnings' program, some individuals' data was "enrolled" in a database to create an "Identity ID" for individuals who could then be surveilled by company staff.
For individuals where no matched identity with people Bunnings was trying to track following unlawful or adverse behaviour in its stores, information was deleted after 4.17 milliseconds.
The Privacy Commissioner has made a number of declarations as part of its decision, including:
- Bunnings must not repeat or continue the acts and practices that led to the interference with individuals' privacy;
- Bunnings must publish a statement about the conduct; and
- Bunnings must destroy all personal information and sensitive information collected via the facial recognition technology system that it still holds (after one year).
What they said: "Facial recognition technology may have been an efficient and cost effective option available to Bunnings at the time in its well-intentioned efforts to address unlawful activity, which included incidents of violence and aggression," Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind said.
"However, just because a technology may be helpful or convenient, does not mean its use is justifiable.
“In this instance, deploying facial recognition technology was the most intrusive option, disproportionately interfering with the privacy of everyone who entered its stores, not just high-risk individuals."
The source: OAIC
