Bunnings given green light to use facial recognition tech on customers to combat crime
2026-02-04
The Guardian
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Australian retailer Bunnings used AI facial recognition to combat retail crime, scanning customers' faces without explicit consent. The Privacy Commissioner found this breached privacy laws, but the Administrative Review Tribunal later ruled Bunnings could use the technology if it improved privacy policies and customer notifications, highlighting ongoing legal and ethical concerns.[AI generated]
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
The event explicitly involves an AI system (facial recognition technology) used in a real-world setting. The use of this AI system has directly led to a breach of privacy rights by scanning and checking customers' faces without proper notification, which is a violation of applicable privacy laws protecting fundamental rights. Although the tribunal ruled in favor of Bunnings' use of the technology for safety reasons, the privacy breach and the scanning of hundreds of thousands of customers' faces without adequate notice constitute a realized harm. This fits the definition of an AI Incident as it involves a violation of human rights (privacy) caused by the use of an AI system. The event is not merely a potential risk or a complementary update but a concrete case of harm linked to AI use.[AI generated]