A vending machine at a university in Canada that was not working properly has unintentionally exposed the fact that several machines have been utilizing hidden facial recognition technology.
In the beginning of this month, a vending machine at the University of Waterloo displayed an error message – Invenda.Vending.FacialRecognition.App.exe – on its screen.
There was no previous indication that the machine was utilizing the technology, or that a camera was overseeing student movement and transactions. Users did not provide consent for their facial scans or analysis.
River Stanley, the reporter for the university’s newspaper, stated to CTV News that the application error was the only way the discovery could have been uncovered, as there were no prior warnings.
Display the image in full screen mode.
The manufacturer, Invenda, promotes their utilization of “demographic detection software” which is said to be capable of identifying the gender and age of clients. They assure that this technology complies with GDPR, the privacy regulations of the European Union, though it is uncertain if it meets the standards in Canada.
In April, Canadian Tire, a national retailer, violated privacy regulations in British Columbia by using facial recognition technology without informing customers. The privacy commissioner for the government stated that even if the stores had received consent, the company did not provide a justifiable reason for gathering facial data.
The University of Waterloo has promised to remove the Invenda machines at the earliest opportunity and has requested the software to be deactivated in the meantime.
In response, students at the university in Ontario covered the suspected camera hole with gum and paper.
Source: theguardian.com
