Facewatch, which currently operates in around 400 stores in the UK, uses facial recognition software developed by Real Networks and Amazon. It maintains a watchlist of repeat offenders for a year before deleting their data. For a monthly fee of approximately $320, stores have access to an individual watchlist shared with nearby establishments. When a tagged face is detected, an alert is sent to their smartphone, allowing employees to decide how to react.
While the use of facial recognition by retailers has gained popularity in the UK, it has also sparked controversy. Critics argue that this is an overreaction to petty crimes and lacks transparency and accountability. However, Facewatch claims that bugs are rare and when they do occur they fix them immediately.
Widespread adoption of facial recognition technology seems inevitable, even in Russia; Now the question is when will that happen?
Source: Ferra
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