Rite Aid Will Be Banned From Using Facial Recognition Technology For Five Years Following FTC Allegations

Rite Aid, a pharmacy chain in the United States that went bankrupt (photo: x @riteaid)

JAKARTA - Rite Aid, a bankrupt pharmacy chain in the United States, will be banned from using facial recognition technology for surveillance purposes, for five years as part of a settlement of allegations brought by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC on Tuesday, December 19 stated that Rite Aid harmed consumers.

Rite Aid used artificial intelligence-based facial recognition technology from 2012 to 2020 to identify thieves in stores. But the company mistakenly identified some consumers as someone it had previously identified as a thief.

Rite Aid said in a statement that the agreement with the FTC still must be approved by the bankruptcy court overseeing its bankruptcy case.

"These charges relate to a facial recognition technology trial program being implemented in a number of stores," the company said. "Rite Aid discontinued use of this technology in a small group of stores more than three years ago, before the FTC's investigation into the company's use of the technology began."

The FTC's charges and ban follow a 2020 Reuters investigation into Rite Aid's facial recognition program.

The investigation found that Rite Aid secretly added facial recognition systems to hundreds of stores in the United States. Even in New York and Los Angeles, Rite Aid deployed the technology primarily in low-income and black neighborhoods.

After Reuters sent its findings to Rite Aid in July 2020, Rite Aid stated that they were discontinuing use of their facial recognition software.