Facewatch, Met police face lawsuits after facial recognition misidentification

Multiple surveillance cameras mounted in a ceiling

Biometric security company Facewatch, which provides facial recognition software to shops across the UK, is facing a lawsuit after its system wrongly flagged a 19-year-old girl as a shoplifter.

The girl, who goes under the name Sara to protect her identity, was shopping at Home Bargains in Manchester in February when staff confronted her and threw her out of the store. In the UK’s first challenge to facial recognition surveillance, Sara is now taking Facewatch and Home Bargains to court with the help of the digital rights group Big Brother Watch.

“I have never stolen in my life and so I was confused, upset and humiliated to be labeled as a criminal in front of a whole shop of people,” she said in a statement.

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