The supermarket chain Wegmans, which is based in Rochester, has acknowledged that in some of its stores it uses facial recognition software to identify people “who pose a risk to our people, customers, or operation.” Wegmans, like other retailers, uses surveillance cameras in its stores. Images from those cameras can be fed into computer systems that use facial recognition software in order to identify people.
Westfair’s Westchester County and Fairfield County Business Journals have learned from a source that while Wegmans uses facial recognition software at its Fairfield County store in Norwalk it does not use the technology at its Westchester location in Harrison because it is not needed there.
A spokesperson for Wegmans told the Business Journals, “We put a great deal of time and thought into each store’s security program. For security and safety purposes, we do not get into the specific measures used at each store. In a small fraction of our stores that exhibit an elevated risk, we have deployed cameras equipped with facial recognition technology. Currently those stores are in a handful of states.”
In a separate statement Wegmans said, “In New York City, we comply with local requirements by posting the mandated signage to notify customers about the technology. This technology is solely used for keeping our stores secure and safe. The system collects facial recognition data and only uses it to identify individuals who have been previously flagged for misconduct.”
Wegmans said that it only collected images and videos and did not collect biometric data such as retinal scans or voice prints.
“Images and video are retained only as long as necessary for security purposes and then disposed of,” Wegmans said. “For security reasons, we do not disclose the exact retention period, but it aligns with industry standards.”
The signs posted by Wegmans at tis New York City stores to comply with the city’s law on disclosure when facial recognition software is in use said, in part, “ATTENTION CUSTOMERS Biometric identifier information collected at this location. This is information that can be used to identify or help identify you. We use facial recognition technology to protect the safety and security of our patrons and employees, and do not lease, trade or otherwise profit from the transfer of biometric identifier information.”
Wegmans said that people it would be interested in identifying as being in a store would be determined by its asset protection team based on incidents occurring on its property and information from law enforcement for cases involving criminal activity or missing persons.
“We understand concerns about fairness and bias in facial recognition systems,” Wegmans said. “We employ a multitude of training and safety measures to help keep people safe. Facial recognition technology serves as one investigative lead for us. We never base our decisions on a single lead alone. Our goal is simple – to keep our stores safe and secure.”
According to CNN Newsource, retailers typically have watchlists of people that have been suspected of shoplifting or been caught shoplifting, and facial recognition software generates alerts to employees that someone on such a list has entered a store. Wegmans is just one of many big U.S. retailers using facial recognition technology. Walmart, Kroger and Home Depot rely on it. MSG Entertainment, the owner of Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall, has used facial recognition to keep some people out of games and concerts.
Rite Aid in 2023 agreed to a five-year ban from using facial recognition technology after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that the chain falsely accused customers of crimes and unfairly targeted people of color.
“Rite Aid’s failures caused and were likely to cause substantial injury to consumers, and especially to Black, Asian, Latino, and women consumers,” the FTC said.
The Wegmans store in Norwalk is its first in Connecticut and was opened in July. The store in Harrison was opened in 2020.
