University vending machine error reveals use of secret facial recognition | A malfunctioning vending machine at a Canadian university has inadvertently revealed that a number of them have been usin…::Snack dispenser at University of Waterloo shows facial recognition message on screen despite no prior indication
The worst part of all is that no one would think of the fact that a vending machine is performing facial recognition techniques, because in general it is assumed that a vending machine is a mechanical device, as it has been in the past. There is not any user benefit in that.
I researched the manufacuter and in their brochure (see page 6) of a similar vending machine it is revealed what data can be processed:
Among the worst data sets are:
- product demographics
- measuring of foot traffic
- gender/ age/ etc.
Bonus: on page 7 of the product brochure they introduce an app which allows the customer to make purchases directly from their smatphone, with features like
- consumer engagement through gamification, interactive marketing, gifting, scratch-and-win receipts, product sampling and cross selling
“What do customers get?”
- a fun and engaging payment process
Finally! I always thought that payment is not fun enough. What a time to be alive.
Well this absolutely wouldn’t fly in the EU with GDPR
Can you lot in the states do something about your weird corpocracy, it’s looking a bit dystopian
No. But also, this is Ontario, well-known for being outside US jurisdiction.
Bad news, the manufacturer is located in Switzerland and, as stated in the brochure, they advertise their product as “Made in EU”. Probably to implicate that any data which will be collected and processed will be under the terms of GDPR.
I haven’t looked up the terms regarding GDPR, but I assume that their data collection is somewhat “compliant” with GDPR, which does not necessaryly mean anything. It can just mean that data is not stored locally, albeit it will be send to the manufacturer (but probably entcrypted). However, under GDPR you can enforce your right of deletion of the collected data - that is, if you know that data about you has been collected.
What makes this issue so severe is that it would have never been detected that data has been collected and processed, if it weren’t for a malfunction.
Edit: grammar, spelling
Switzerland is not in the EU. Also even if it was, it’s not illegal to design/manufacture solutions that don’t comply with GDPR. They just can’t be sold in the EU.
Also, data collection absolutely requires consent, it’s why cookie popups exist on every website.
gender/age/etc.
The etc. is doing a lot of work there
Scariest part is we’d never have known if the facial recognition software hadn’t encountered an error. At least until someone curious enough looked up the machine.
AND they might have had miniature cameras in them for the past 20 years.
(The laws against this stuff are almost non-existing. Option left for those of us creeped out by constant surveillance: don’t leave home, unplug that webcam. Demand privacy or lose it.)
Hey hey - y’all quit hanging around the vending machines! You’re going to be late for the two minutes of hate!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A malfunctioning vending machine at a Canadian university has inadvertently revealed that a number of them have been using facial recognition technology in secret.
Invenda, the company that produces the machines, advertises its use of “demographic detection software”, which it says can determine gender and age of customers.
It claims the technology is compliant with GDPR, the European Union’s privacy standards, but it is unclear whether it meets Canadian equivalents.
In April, the national retailer Canadian Tire ran afoul of privacy laws in British Columbia after it used facial recognition technology without notifying customers.
The government’s privacy commissioner said that even if the stores had obtained permission, the company failed to show a reasonable purpose for collecting facial information.
The University of Waterloo pledged in a statement to remove the Invenda machines “as soon as possible”, and that in the interim, it had “asked that the software be disabled”.
The original article contains 258 words, the summary contains 149 words. Saved 42%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This seems like an over reaction by people who don’t understand the technology or associated risks. Focus on the implementation not the tech. There is no indication that the vending machine is inappropriatly storing or transmitting personally identifiable information or that its making decisions based on biased data.
Yikes, people here are brutal to people with differing viewpoints, heh.
Doesn’t seem to matter how knowledgeable in the subject matter the person may be either.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Says a guy who doesn’t hide his real name, face, and location for his online persona. You have no concept of digital privacy.
Arguing that I have no concept of digital privacy because I choose to share my name and face is an ignorant statement and demonstrates how little you understand the concept of online privacy. For context, I work in tech in Canada, I deal with GDPR and other compliances. I understand the technology, the risks, and the attack vectors. These vending machines are not a serious threat to individuals privacy. Facebook, Google, Amazon, are serious threats. Focus your energy on the actual risks instead of making uninformed comments.
Did 2yo Marisol also make an informed choice to share her identity and location on the fediverse?
This vending machine is taking biometrics off of everyone who walks past it and you don’t think that’s the least bit concerning?
GDPR doesn’t apply in Canada unless you are trying to operate business in Europe.
Compliance only matters if you can’t afford a fine. If you can make more money violating regulations than the cost of the fine, it’s just a business expense.
You pretend to care about consent and privacy and then mention my daughter by name here. You’ll notice I share photos and details about my daughter from accounts on servers I control. There is an implicit agreement in the fediverse to respect people’s privacy. I obviously don’t rely on that implicit agreement because some people do unethical things as demonstrated in your post. I protect my daughter from legitimate online privacy and security threats, I don’t play privacy and security theatre.
This vending machine is taking biometrics off of everyone who walks past
You have no evidence of this and there is no mention of this in the article. This also doesn’t make any sense from an implementation perspective.
GDPR doesn’t apply in Canada unless you are trying to operate business in Europe.
You’re correct that GDPR doesn’t apply in Canada, it’s just that GDPR is usually the strictest compliance so it’s usual for companies to meet that compliance as a minimum.
Compliance only matters if you can’t afford a fine.
GDPR fines can be tied to global revenue.
When your beliefs don’t align with the facts, consider changing your beliefs instead of doubling down on your opinions, making things up, and doing unethical things. Please try better.
Mind explaining to me why a vending machine needs to know the demographics of its users?
I guess to collect data for advertisements and product development
Do you see a lot of advertising for vending machines?
Likely for general marketing feedback so not targeting individuals like Facebook, Google, etc. If the vending machine is GDPR compliant then it’s not storing individuals PII on the machine (it would be physically insecure) or transmitting PII without consent. And anyway, the marketing team wouldn’t care about individuals, they’re looking for aggregate trends. I think we should have stricter anti-marketing laws but this is not a dangerous anti-privacy vector. Online marketing is far far worse so if we’re concerned with privacy, let’s implement laws and policies that protect privacy instead of these BS distractions that don’t actually affect people’s privacy.
Bananada has no GDPR
This is a pretty “generous” take. I ask you then: if the company isn’t doing communicating any of the scans/recordings, what is the purpose of the technology being installed in the first place?
Marketing is often targeted, especially online (which is a huge privacy issue). I would guess they are using the data from these vending machines to measure the success of their marketing campaigns.
Like I said: generous. You are "guess"ing that what they are doing with it is above board. I’m not that trusting of corporations.
People trusted Boeing would put planes together with the utmost concern for safety… Then a fucking for feel off mid-flight.
Go back to reddit Greg.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahajaja
Total “trust me bro” take.
I have the keys to your house, but there’s no evidence I’m using them inappropriately.
I never say this, but go lick some more boot.
Everyone seems concerned about what it could be doing, not what it is doing.
I could sit next to a vending machine and make notes on the gender and sex of each patron for demographic purposes, nothing would be illegal.
Why? Well, that’s easy, I want to stock my vending machine in order to make money. Instead of testing different layouts which would take a lot of time, I could predict how well certain stock would do based on preexisting market research.
This appears to be just that, but with a camera.
Now, you can argue “but it could be worse”! That’s not a valid argument. It could always be worse for things you don’t know about. If it holds up to be true, as stated, it’s just what it is.
If you’re sitting there taking notes it is obvious what you’re doing and the users of the machine can opt out of using it. With hidden cameras, not so much.
It’s a public space. You have no expectation of privacy. It’s the same reason license plate scanners are a thing.
It’s the automated equivalent of eyes.
I rather the company just restock their machine based on what sold and what didn’t instead of what percentage of people blink a certain amount of times while browsing the vending machine.
Not to mention the data they collect about you will be sold to other companies who will combine it with several other data points they collect about you to determine your personality and decide how much more money they can charge you on services or deny medical insurance based on your estimated health by your patterns. And while it might not end up affecting your life the data will still be around to affect the next generation
I mean, I don’t disagree. I’d rather that too! But you’re arguing if it’s good policy to do this or not, that’s a different argument vs. whether they legally and ethically can.
You don’t disagree, but you are spending a lot of breath and effort to indicate otherwise.
Not every country has those laws, and in a lot of them you have expectation of privacy in public!
Fed
Lol people get so worked up and don’t know shit. We’re all just apes with a god complex.
