Exclusive: Cross-party collection of parliamentarians write letter to Sports Direct owner
Almost 50 MPs and peers have written to Mike Ashley’s, the corporate owner of the tycoon’s retail portfolio including House of Fraser and Sports Direct, condemning the use of “live facial recognition” cameras in the group’s stores.
The letter, which was coordinated and co-signed by the privacy groups Big Brother Watch, Liberty and Privacy International, argues that as well as being wrong on principle, facial recognition technology is also “inaccurate and ineffective”. “To date, 87% of alerts generated by the Metropolitan police’s own live facial recognition system have been inaccurate. The poor accuracy of LFR technology also disproportionately impacts people of colour and women.
Frasers Group has been contacted for comment. Previously a spokesperson has said surveillance is carried out to “ensure the safety of our staff and to help prevent theft”.that Sports Direct and Flannels, two of the brands operated by Frasers Group, were already using the cameras in at least 27 stores. The cameras scan the faces of every shopper, and check them against a database of suspected shoplifters, in an attempt to pre-emptively flag and either monitor or evict those who may cause trouble.
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