Facial recognition surveillance is unethical.
With this technology we cannot be anonymous in public spaces and our privacy is invaded no matter where we go.
Facial recognition systems track and record our movements – even if we have done nothing wrong.
Not only is it an invasion of privacy, but facial recognition is also biased. Research suggests that the technologies are delivering inaccurate results and are discriminatory, often producing false positives that are built on existing racist, sexist or classist bias within law enforcement and judicial systems.
We’ve seen these systems used without the knowledge or consent of customers in Australia. The Privacy Commissioner ruled in 2024 that “Bunnings has interfered with the privacy of hundreds of thousands of customers by using facial recognition technology without gaining proper consent.” The Commissioner recently also ruled against Kmart for the same unethical breach of consent for using facial recognition in select stores.
There are no regulations or laws to govern the technologies – currently, Australia has no regulatory or legal frameworks that govern facial recognition technologies. This means that companies, governments and their staff can do whatever they like without legal oversight.
Join our campaign to ban facial recognition today.