My husband makes a good point: retail security guards are just doing their job. I get that-it’s not their fault. However, in the case that you are being followed and made to feel uncomfortable because clearly their face recognition device has identified you as a target for theft, your rights as a good, abiding citizen feels like all are made to be in vain. You want to turn around and ask them if they are following you or bluntly let them know that you understand you are being watched, but honestly, there is this shock and embarrassment that never ceases to fail each time you walk into a retail store and find yourself to be a victim all over again. You think to yourself, ‘As many times I’ve frequented this place and have proven myself time and time again that they’ve got the wrong person, shouldn’t I be exempt by this?’ And yet, once again, an employee walks by you pretending to put things away as their eyes glaze upon the items you’re holding or have placed in your cart or that familiar “shopper” behind a shelf that you realize was watching you as you were paying for your merchandise, quite apparent that they were watching to make sure you were leaving having paid for all that they must have watched you pick out from the shelves or racks.
Once again, these security guards are doing their jobs, but in the case of facial recognition, there needs to be something done with the accuracy of these devices. I’m simply getting tired of “understanding”. One of these days, I may just turn around and take out my discomfort on the employee doing their job. What good would that do for those simply following a system? Facial recognition companies, fine-tune your developments- for the good people’s sake who should never be made to feel like a criminal.
Research has shown that certain face features collectively rule you in or out of a given identity. Have you ever been or felt followed in a department store?
