24 April 2023 , 14:01
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Sports Direct and House of Fraser must stop using facial recognition cameras and adding customers to "secret watchlists", dozens of MPs and peers have said.
In a scathing letter to boss Mike Ashley, 42 politicians from all major parties warn the technology "treats everyone who passes the camera like a potential criminal".
The group, including Tory former Brexit Secretary David Davis, Labour's former shadow chancellor John McDonnell and ex-Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, say the cameras have "well-evidenced issues with privacy, inaccuracy, and race and gender discrimination".
Frasers Group, which also owns Flannels, Game and Jack Wills, said earlier this year that it had introduced the cameras to protect staff and prevent shoplifting.
But this means the company is "performing an identity check on every single customer", the letter warns.
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Tory heavyweight David Davis is among MPs calling for the cameras to be scrapped (UK PARLIAMENT/AFP via Getty Imag)The MPs and peers say using this technology in a retail setting is a "disproportionate infringement of shoppers’ right to privacy".
Their letter states: "The technology obtains the facial biometric data – information as sensitive as a fingerprint – of every customer entering the store to check them against your privately created watchlist.
"This is the equivalent of performing an identity check on every single customer."
It warns that women and black, Asian and mixed-race people are far more likely to be misidentified than white customers.
And it said mistakes in public settings "can be extremely distressing for the person involved and can have wider ramifications for their lives and livelihoods"..
Signatories also include Labour's Dawn Butler, Ian Lavery and Nadia Whittome, Tories Charles Walker and Chris Green, Lib Dems Wendy Chamberlain and Christine Jardine, the new SNP treasurer Stuart McDonald and Green MP Caroline Lucas.
A letter has been sent to company owner Mike Ashley (PA)Labour MP Sam Tarry, who also signed the letter, posted on Twitter: "Fraser Groups' use of facial recognition cameras is straight out of the dystopian playbook. It's invasive and discriminatory and shouldn't be allowed."
Mark Johnson, legal and policy officer at campaign group Big Brother Watch, said it should be a "wake-up call" for Frasers Group, adding: "These systems work by adding customers to secret watchlists with no due process, meaning people can be blacklisted and denied the opportunity to enter shops despite being entirely innocent.
"Live facial recognition has no place on Britain’s high streets. Customers at Flannels, House of Fraser and Sports Direct stores should not expect to be treated like criminals when they go out to the shops."
The Mirror has contacted Fraser Group for comment.
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Earlier this year the Mail on Sunday reported 13 Flannels stores and 12 Sports Direct stores had the cameras installed.
The company said at the time that the "rollout continues", with a spokesman saying it was being done "to ensure the safety of our staff and to help prevent theft".