US EditionWegmans Says Its NYC Grocery Stores Are Collecting Shoppers’ Biometric Data to Keep Stores Safe
Wegmans uses facial recognition in select NYC stores to identify previously flagged individuals and enhance security, deploying cameras only in locations with elevated risk, the company said.
- On Jan. 4, media reports said Wegmans is collecting biometric data at Manhattan and Brooklyn stores, with signage at the Brooklyn Navy Yard warning entrants about facial recognition, eye scans and voiceprints.
- Wegmans says the program aims to deter and investigate illegal activity at stores with higher risk, using facial recognition case-by-case to protect customers and employees and flag persons of interest.
- Wegmans’ privacy policy says it limits biometric collection to facial recognition and controls access to Security Information, which only limited Wegmans employees, third-party service providers and law enforcement can access, while images are retained only as long as necessary.
- Customers and some lawmakers said the notices alarmed them, with Monroe County Legislator Rachel Barnhart writing to Colleen Wegman demanding answers and warning biometric data cannot be changed if misused.
- Fairway supermarkets and Madison Square Garden have used facial recognition, while New York City Councilmember Shahana Hanif has reintroduced a bill to ban biometric data collection.
26 Articles
26 Articles
Why it matters that Wegmans and other retailers are gathering biometric data on shoppers
Stock image: An abstract representation of AI.(ryzhi / stock.adobe.com)UPDATE: The city of Rochester and any municipality in New York state can, under home rule law, enact regulations similar to New York City's requiring businesses to post signage disclosing the collection of biometric data, a spokesperson for Mayor Malik Evans confirmed after checking with the city's law department. What is not known is whether there is interest and support for…
Grocery store chain’s biometric surveillance, sparking privacy concerns · American Wire News
Ever get the feeling that you’re being watched? Well, if you shop at one popular grocery store chain, you may not be far off the mark. A sign posted at a Wegman’s grocery store in New York has shoppers calling privacy concerns into question. “Biometric identifier information collected at this location,” it reads. “Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. collects, retains, converts, stores or shares customers’ biometric identifier information, which may inclu…
Wegmans added facial recognition technology to NYC stores, won't say if it plans the same for Central New York stores
Wegmans grocery stores in New York City have reportedly begun scanning the faces, eyes, and voices of each entering customer — and has yet to clarify if it plans to bring that same technology to Central New York. Small signs announcing the new biometric data collection technology appeared this month in Manhattan and Brooklyn Wegmans locations, according to the Gothamist. The signs state that Wegmans “… collects, retains, converts, stores or sha…
NYC Wegmans’ storing shoppers’ facial scans and biometric data to ID customers, boost security: ‘We understand concerns’
New signs unveiled at some Wegmans across the Big Apple are warning customers that personally-identifying biometric data, such as facial recognition scans, is being stored while they shop.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 61% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
