Facial Recognition Company Says There’s Nothing To Worry About

If you’re tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Once again people worried about their privacy and safety of personal data are hearing the tired old (and debunked) platitude that if they have done nothing wrong, “they have nothing to fear.” This time in Australia, where facial recognition technology is being deployed in large retail chains such as Woolworths and Coles, joined recently by Bunnings, which reports say angered shoppers who found out that their faces and license plates may be scanned – a part of a wider the push to expand the use of biometric surveillance. Not surprisingly, however, Phil Thomson, the founder and CEO of a company that produces the software used in these stores – called Auror – is attempting to persuade Australians their privacy is under no threat whatsoever. It is Thomson who thought it was a good idea to shore up his argument that Auror was developed with a “privacy-by-design approach” by going for the “… nothing to fear” argument. But the Australian Federal Police don’t seem to have as much faith in Auror’s alleged privacy friendliness as they suspended its use awaiting a review. This decision was made in the wake of a Crikey probe that sparked fears of privacy violations, the Daily Mail reported. However, Australian retailers – reportedly at this point some 40 percent of them – are eager to take advantage of Auror’s promise to protect their “profits, people and property” despite the misgivings….Facial Recognition Company Says There’s Nothing To Worry About