U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono and 11 of her Senate colleagues have commended the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for taking action against Rite Aid for its discriminatory use of facial recognition technology. Senator Hirono, along with Senator Ed Markey and others, sent a letter to the FTC praising the enforcement and urging continued efforts to protect consumers and prevent discriminatory surveillance.
“The Rite Aid complaint and settlement illustrate the unique threats that facial recognition and other biometric identification systems pose for Black communities, communities of color, and low-income individuals,” the lawmakers expressed in their letter.
The FTC's investigation revealed that Rite Aid's facial recognition systems led to numerous false identifications, resulting in individuals being wrongly accused and even expelled from stores. The company failed to disclose its use of this technology and disproportionately targeted neighborhoods with a higher population of people of color.
The senators emphasized the importance of ongoing enforcement and investigative measures to combat harmful biometric identification systems, noting the real harms caused by false matches and biased deployment in communities of color and low-income areas.
The letter was also signed by Senators Peter Welch, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Raphael Warnock, Ron Wyden, Alex Padilla, Jeff Merkley, Tina Smith, Ben Cardin, and Laphonza Butler.
Facial recognition technology has been shown to have higher misidentification rates for people of color and women, with a tendency to be deployed more frequently in marginalized communities. This enforcement action against Rite Aid serves as a significant step towards addressing these issues and protecting individuals' privacy and civil liberties.