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Incident 619: Rite Aid Facial Recognition Disproportionately Misidentified Minority Shoppers as Shoplifters

Description: Rite Aid used facial recognition technology from October 2012 to July 2020, allegedly leading to disproportionate misidentifications of women, Black, Latino, and Asian shoppers as "likely" shoplifters. The FTC settlement prohibits Rite Aid from using this technology in stores for five years.

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Entities

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Alleged: Unnamed developed an AI system deployed by Rite Aid, which harmed Rite Aid customers who were women , Rite Aid customers who were minorities and Rite Aid customers.

Incident Stats

Incident ID
619
Report Count
14
Incident Date
2023-12-20
Editors
Applied Taxonomies
CSETv1, MIT

CSETv1 Taxonomy Classifications

Taxonomy Details

Incident Number

The number of the incident in the AI Incident Database.
 

619

AI Tangible Harm Level Notes

Notes about the AI tangible harm level assessment
 

3.1 - People flagged as shoplifters by Rite Aid's facial recognition technology could be approached, asked to leave without finishing their purchases, searched, humiliated, or reported to the police.

Special Interest Intangible Harm

An assessment of whether a special interest intangible harm occurred. This assessment does not consider the context of the intangible harm, if an AI was involved, or if there is characterizable class or subgroup of harmed entities. It is also not assessing if an intangible harm occurred. It is only asking if a special interest intangible harm occurred.
 

yes

Date of Incident Year

The year in which the incident occurred. If there are multiple harms or occurrences of the incident, list the earliest. If a precise date is unavailable, but the available sources provide a basis for estimating the year, estimate. Otherwise, leave blank. Enter in the format of YYYY
 

2012

MIT Taxonomy Classifications

Machine-Classified
Taxonomy Details

Risk Subdomain

A further 23 subdomains create an accessible and understandable classification of hazards and harms associated with AI
 

1.1. Unfair discrimination and misrepresentation

Risk Domain

The Domain Taxonomy of AI Risks classifies risks into seven AI risk domains: (1) Discrimination & toxicity, (2) Privacy & security, (3) Misinformation, (4) Malicious actors & misuse, (5) Human-computer interaction, (6) Socioeconomic & environmental harms, and (7) AI system safety, failures & limitations.
 
  1. Discrimination and Toxicity

Entity

Which, if any, entity is presented as the main cause of the risk
 

Human

Timing

The stage in the AI lifecycle at which the risk is presented as occurring
 

Post-deployment

Intent

Whether the risk is presented as occurring as an expected or unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
 

Intentional

Incident Reports

Reports Timeline

+4
FTC bans Rite Aid's use of AI facial recognition over lack of consumer protections
+6
Rite Aid’s ‘reckless’ use of facial recognition got it banned from using the technology in stores for five years
Rite Aid’s A.I. Facial Recognition Wrongly Tagged People of Color as ShopliftersRite Aid Settles FTC Allegations Regarding Use of Facial Recognition TechnologyFTC Announces Groundbreaking Action Against Rite Aid for Unfair Use of AI
FTC bans Rite Aid's use of AI facial recognition over lack of consumer protections

FTC bans Rite Aid's use of AI facial recognition over lack of consumer protections

foxbusiness.com

Rite Aid to be barred from using facial recognition under proposed FTC settlement

Rite Aid to be barred from using facial recognition under proposed FTC settlement

cnbc.com

Rite Aid Banned from Using AI Facial Recognition After FTC Says Retailer Deployed Technology without Reasonable Safeguards

Rite Aid Banned from Using AI Facial Recognition After FTC Says Retailer Deployed Technology without Reasonable Safeguards

ftc.gov

Coming face to face with Rite Aid’s allegedly unfair use of facial recognition technology

Coming face to face with Rite Aid’s allegedly unfair use of facial recognition technology

ftc.gov

Rite Aid faces 5-year facial recognition ban

Rite Aid faces 5-year facial recognition ban

axios.com

Rite Aid’s ‘reckless’ use of facial recognition got it banned from using the technology in stores for five years

Rite Aid’s ‘reckless’ use of facial recognition got it banned from using the technology in stores for five years

cnn.com

Rite Aid facial recognition misidentified Black, Latino and Asian people as ‘likely’ shoplifters

Rite Aid facial recognition misidentified Black, Latino and Asian people as ‘likely’ shoplifters

theguardian.com

Rite Aid banned from use of facial recognition in stores after thousands of false matches

Rite Aid banned from use of facial recognition in stores after thousands of false matches

abcnews.go.com

Rite Aid hit with five-year facial recognition ban over “reckless” use

Rite Aid hit with five-year facial recognition ban over “reckless” use

theverge.com

Rite Aid banned from facial recognition tech use for 5 years after faulty theft targeting in stores

Rite Aid banned from facial recognition tech use for 5 years after faulty theft targeting in stores

apnews.com

Rite Aid banned from using facial recognition software after falsely identifying shoplifters

Rite Aid banned from using facial recognition software after falsely identifying shoplifters

techcrunch.com

Rite Aid’s A.I. Facial Recognition Wrongly Tagged People of Color as Shoplifters

Rite Aid’s A.I. Facial Recognition Wrongly Tagged People of Color as Shoplifters

nytimes.com

Rite Aid Settles FTC Allegations Regarding Use of Facial Recognition Technology

Rite Aid Settles FTC Allegations Regarding Use of Facial Recognition Technology

insideprivacy.com

FTC Announces Groundbreaking Action Against Rite Aid for Unfair Use of AI

FTC Announces Groundbreaking Action Against Rite Aid for Unfair Use of AI

wilmerhale.com

FTC bans Rite Aid's use of AI facial recognition over lack of consumer protections
foxbusiness.com · 2023

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Tuesday banned Rite Aid from using facial recognition powered by artificial intelligence (AI) for surveillance purposes for five years following charges the retailer’s use of AI lacked appropriate safeg…

Rite Aid to be barred from using facial recognition under proposed FTC settlement
cnbc.com · 2023

The Federal Trade Commission proposed to bar Rite Aid from using facial recognition software in its drugstores for five years to settle allegations it improperly used the technology to identify shoplifters, the agency said Tuesday.

The FTC …

Rite Aid Banned from Using AI Facial Recognition After FTC Says Retailer Deployed Technology without Reasonable Safeguards
ftc.gov · 2023

Rite Aid will be prohibited from using facial recognition technology for surveillance purposes for five years to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the retailer failed to implement reasonable procedures and prevent harm to consume…

Coming face to face with Rite Aid’s allegedly unfair use of facial recognition technology
ftc.gov · 2023

Rite Aid has “used facial recognition technology in its retail stores without taking reasonable steps to address the risks that its deployment of such technology was likely to result in harm to consumers as a result of false-positive facial…

Rite Aid faces 5-year facial recognition ban
axios.com · 2023

Rite Aid will be banned from using AI-powered facial recognition technology for five years under a proposed settlement of Federal Trade Commission charges, the FTC announced Tuesday.

Why it matters: The FTC alleged in a complaint Tuesday th…

Rite Aid’s ‘reckless’ use of facial recognition got it banned from using the technology in stores for five years
cnn.com · 2023

Rite Aid has agreed to a five-year ban from using facial recognition technology after the Federal Trade Commission found that the chain falsely accused customers of crimes and unfairly targeted people of color.

The FTC and Rite Aid reached …

Rite Aid facial recognition misidentified Black, Latino and Asian people as ‘likely’ shoplifters
theguardian.com · 2023

Rite Aid used facial recognition systems to identify shoppers that were previously deemed “likely to engage” in shoplifting without customer consent and misidentified people – particularly women and Black, Latino or Asian people – on “numer…

Rite Aid banned from use of facial recognition in stores after thousands of false matches
abcnews.go.com · 2023

Drugstore chain Rite Aid has accepted a ban of its use of facial recognition software for five years due to false accusations stemming from the technology that disproportionately affected people of color, the Federal Trade Commission said.

…
Rite Aid hit with five-year facial recognition ban over “reckless” use
theverge.com · 2023

Rite Aid isn’t allowed to use AI-powered facial recognition technology for another five years as part of a settlement it reached with the Federal Trade Commission. In a complaint filed on Tuesday, the FTC accuses Rite Aid of using facial su…

Rite Aid banned from facial recognition tech use for 5 years after faulty theft targeting in stores
apnews.com · 2023

Rite Aid has been banned from using facial recognition technology for five years over allegations that its surveillance system was used incorrectly to identify potential shoplifters, especially Black, Latino, Asian or female shoppers.

The s…

Rite Aid banned from using facial recognition software after falsely identifying shoplifters
techcrunch.com · 2023

Rite Aid has been banned from using facial recognition software for five years, after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that the U.S. drugstore giant’s “reckless use of facial surveillance systems” left customers humiliated and put t…

Rite Aid’s A.I. Facial Recognition Wrongly Tagged People of Color as Shoplifters
nytimes.com · 2023

Rite Aid, the pharmacy chain, used facial recognition technology to falsely and disproportionately identify people of color and women as likely shoplifters, the Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday, describing a system that embarrassed …

Rite Aid Settles FTC Allegations Regarding Use of Facial Recognition Technology
insideprivacy.com · 2024

On December 19, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") announced that it reached a settlement with Rite Aid Corporation and Rite Aid Headquarters Corporation (collectively, "Rite Aid") to resolve allegations that the companies violated …

FTC Announces Groundbreaking Action Against Rite Aid for Unfair Use of AI
wilmerhale.com · 2024

On December 19, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced an enforcement action against  the retail pharmacy Rite Aid for unfair practices associated with its use of a facial recognition technology (FRT) surveillance system to dete…

Variants

A "variant" is an incident that shares the same causative factors, produces similar harms, and involves the same intelligent systems as a known AI incident. Rather than index variants as entirely separate incidents, we list variations of incidents under the first similar incident submitted to the database. Unlike other submission types to the incident database, variants are not required to have reporting in evidence external to the Incident Database. Learn more from the research paper.

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