The settlement restricts Rite Aid's use of facial recognition technology for five years and requires the company to delete or destroy all consumer photos and videos used or collected in connection with the technology within 45 days. It also prohibits the use of any data, models, or algorithms derived from such technology. The FTC's report revealed that Rite Aid's system generated thousands of false-positive matches, sometimes matching customers with people based on activity thousands of miles away or flagging the same person at multiple stores across the U.S.
Key takeaways:
- Rite Aid and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have reached an agreement regarding the retailer's misuse of artificial intelligence, which led to the wrongful identification of people of color and women as shoplifters.
- The FTC has restricted Rite Aid's use of any facial recognition technology for five years and given the company 45 days to delete or destroy all photos and videos of consumers used or collected in connection with the operation of a Facial Recognition or Analysis System.
- Rite Aid began testing the systems in 200 stores in 2012, in lower-income neighborhoods in New York and Los Angeles. The company said it had already stopped using the technology and shut its cameras off in 2020.
- Other retailers, including Walmart and Home Depot, have also explored using facial recognition software to reduce theft. However, Rite Aid’s system generated thousands of false-positive matches, according to the FTC.