In a letter Friday to Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) said the plans — which involve using facial recognition tools in digital displays to target advertising to customers and collect information on them — potentially pave the way for biased pricing discrimination.
“Studies have shown that facial recognition technology is flawed and can lead to discrimination in predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods,” Tlaib wrote in the letter, which was posted on social media Tuesday. “The racial biases of facial recognition technology are well documented and should not be extended into our grocery stores.”
Kroger is the largest grocery store chain in the country with nearly 3,000 stores and $3.1 billion in profits in 2023. Kroger and other retailers already use electronic shelving labels instead of paper labels to rapidly adjust prices based on a variety of factors, including time of purchase, where a grocery store is located and other data.
The plan to use facial recognition technology could allow the retailer to build individual profiles on customers, based on data like their gender and shopping habits.
In an August letter sent to McMullen about the same plans, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bob Casey (D-PA) said they were concerned about the chain building “personalized profiles of each customer, and then use those profiles ‘to determine how much price hiking each of us can tolerate,’ quickly updating and displaying the customer’s maximum willingness to pay on the digital price tag.”
The use of facial recognition tools in Kroger stores also raises concerns about how Kroger intends to “adequately” safeguard customer data, the Warren and Casey letter said.
We need a law in the US banning the use of computer assistance for identifying humans. Hands down. It’s not accurate, and it only emboldens people controlling resources.
Kroger also owns: Ralphs, Dillons, Smith’s, King Soopers, Fred Myer, Fry’s, QFC, City Market, Owen’s, Jay C, Pay Less, Baker’s, Gerbes, Harris Teeter, Pick‘n Save, Metro Market and Mariano’s.
Thank fuck I haven’t heard of a single one of those stores and have never shopped in them
That’s not surprising, if you live outside of the US. Otherwise, I do have a follow up query for you 😅
I’m in the us. Must be a west coast thing.
Kroger is big in the east, the others are bigger in the west IIRC. And OP missed Fred Meyer, which is big in the PNW.
Missed Fred Meyer, which is huge in the PNW.
I don’t shop at any of those, mostly because it’s not my closest grocery store. It is the biggest though, I just don’t want to drive the extra 10 min to go there vs my local one w/ competitive prices.
Isn’t there a whole big deal about Fred Meyer merging with them and some anti monopoly bs going on?
They want to merge with Albertsons, who owns the other half of grocery stores: Acme, Safeway, jewel osco, and a bunch more.
Ah that explains it
Added
We switched from Kroger to a couple of international groceries. It’s hit and miss quality wise, but this way I’m only supporting at most a handful of greedy shitbags.
If companies can’t protect the information they collect now, (a large portion of it gathered without consent), how are they going to protect even more information; and where can I opt out?..smh
Two options:
- wear something that prevents facial recognition (something like Reflectacles, for example)
- don’t shop at Kroger
I’m doing the latter, but I’m probably going to pick up some anti-facial recognition stuff as well, just to screw with the various other orgs that do this (gonna try going through the airport w/ them as well the next time I travel).
Third option: force the government to outlaw this bullshit
That can take months if not years. Civil disobedience can be done today.
Okay, then that would be option #4 (because neither of the two things you previously mentioned are civil disobedience).
They are, just not disobedience against a government, but against what stores want you to do.
Kroger owns a number of stores, making it even harder to not shop there: https://www.scrapehero.com/store/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Kroger_Company_USA.png
Fortunately we have a different chain in my area: Associated Food Stores.
Oh no, I accidentally smudged a little bit of paint over the facial recognition camera lens… Oops!
Mask mandates may not be in effect but I can wear one to the grocery store. This is stupid and I will not participate.
Surge pricing=price gouging, there is no difference
We need a large, well-organized movement to demand that the government add a right to privacy to the US Constitution.
And it definitely won’t negatively affect people of color, at all, will it?
This is how you end up with laws mandating paper cards with pricing information.
…attracting criticism from lawmakers, who warn it could…
Oh my, if only there were someone with the resources and authority to do something about it.
Kroger is one of the more expensive grocery stores in my area. Less reason to go now. Aldi is the way
No lie, just don’t go there. American ignorance is a huge reason why capitalism is failing us, and the media is a huge part of that.
If this goes through, the media should be plastering the news everywhere. And customers should follow up by quitting Kroger. But neither will happen. Kroger could put signs out front saying, “Fuck you. We’re spying on your FACE.”, and customers would just nod and go on inside.
Look at all these comments. Yours is the only one saying go elsewhere.
That might be ugly, but something like that…
This is appalling.
So nice to live in the Balkans where prices are still on paper, and in some stores you can still barter depending on the quantity you’re buying. 😄
We all need to wear little bowties that spritz semi clear paint into the cameras as we browse price tags.
Or can someone start a tick tok trend where the kids go to stores and eat these little devices off the shelves as a real “just prank bro”?
Also, remember that corporate rats do these things to give each other cover. Kroger has to be the face of bad guy this time, but don’t you think for a second that Safeway and even the new “leadership” at Costco aren’t prepping the same right now.
Thankfully that’s not allowed in my country. I’d be so pissed.
