A vending machine at a university in Canada that was not working properly has accidentally exposed that several of them have been utilizing hidden facial recognition technology.
In the beginning of this month, a vending machine at the University of Waterloo displayed a message indicating an error – Invenda.Vending.FacialRecognition.App.exe – on its screen.
Beforehand, there was no indication that the machine was utilizing the technology, or that a camera was surveilling student movement and purchases. Users did not give consent for their faces to be scanned or analyzed.
According to River Stanley, who reported the discovery for the university’s newspaper, the application error was the only way we found out about it. There were no warnings given.
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The manufacturer, Invenda, promotes their use of “demographic detection software” which they claim can identify the gender and age of customers. They state that this technology is in compliance with GDPR, the privacy standards of the European Union, but it is uncertain if it also meets the standards set by Canada.
In April, Canadian Tire, a national retailer, violated privacy laws in British Columbia by utilizing facial recognition technology without informing customers. The privacy commissioner of the government stated that even if the stores had received consent, the company did not provide a valid reason for gathering facial data.
The University of Waterloo promised to eliminate the Invenda machines “as soon as possible” and has requested that the software be deactivated during this time.
Meanwhile, students from the Ontario university took action by covering the suspected camera hole with gum and paper.
Source: theguardian.com
