Regulations Fines For Biometrics And AI Looming For New Zealand.
Regulations Fines for biometrics and AI – NZ’s privacy watchdog has announced there will be tougher regulation covering biometrics and AI technology, including facial recognition technology – the regulations may even be backed up with legislation and bigger fines for breaches.
NZ’s Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster has promised to publish a draft biometrics code after completing an investigation into the use of face recognition to combat crime by supermarket chain, Foodstuffs.
The procedure, strategies and reporting of Foodstuffs, as well as the results of the investigation, are going to be of significant interest to retail businesses in Australia, too.
Regardless, it’s hard not to feel that no matter how hard retailers try to do the right thing, biometrics and AI technology in retail security applications may end up with one arm tied behind its back.
Regulations Fines For Biometrics And AI
“The cross-cutting issues raised by biometrics are such that legislative amendments may also be necessary to safeguard sensitive personal information,” Webster said.
The investigation into Foodstuff’s facial recognition trial relates to compliance with the NZ Privacy Act. The inquiry will monitor privacy and data protection safeguards, potential biases and false positives, staff training and watchlist response, as well as customer data privacy.
“At the end of the 6-month trial I will be assessing the evidence that the use of FRT is justified,” Webster said. “Has it made a practical and statistically significant difference to the incidence of retail crime in Foodstuffs North Island supermarkets relative to other less intrusive options?”
The inquiry will also seek to establish whether facial recognition technology is effective at reducing retail crime.
NZ’s Privacy Commissioner Office plans heavier penalties for breaches of the Privacy Act, which peak at $NZD10,000, with breaches carrying no penalties.
You can learn more about NZ’s Privacy Act here or read more SEN news here.
“Regulations Fines For Biometrics And AI Looming For New Zealand.”
