Terms of Service (TOS) Under Scrutiny - Part IX - Spying Refrigerators Where They Sell People Medicine (and Then Sell People's Data)
This is a problem also for those of us who don't buy online and typically pay with cash for dignity's sake
IN the last part and the one before that we covered the reality of pharmacies in the supposedly 'modern' era - not limited to what people do when they shop or order "online". There are oppressive trends and worrisome changes, even for those who physically walk into shops and potentially pay with cash.
A recent presentation by an informed researcher covered some aspects pertaining to the latter activity and, to quote the talk's notes:
Walgreens spying refrigerators - using emotion and other models with no Transparency
Walgreens has been “spying” on customers for years. Walgreens put in smart fridges with ads. Cool, right. Until you realize behind the curtain cameras are recording and using models for age/gender, emotion, face, and more!
In late 2021, I asked the clerk who had no idea there were cameras working on those ad displaying coolers and then to the manager who said, "so what?"
My response was - it's Walgreens, a retail store. If I came in to shop or pick up my meds, I should at least see a notification regarding the spying fridge!
There was no notification but recently, Walgreens wound up in court. Well, not for violating privacy but for not rolling out sooner.
As for this advertising tech, the Atlantic reported in 2019, "Demographic information is key to retail shopping. Retailers want to know what people are buying, segmenting shoppers by gender, age, and income (to name a few characteristics) and then targeting them precisely. To that end, these smart coolers are a marvel."
Additionally, coolers at Chevron, Kroger, CVS, and GetGo used the same company for the cooler screens. According to the article by the Atlantic, CVS no longer uses these cooler displays.
"CVS Health had tested Cooler Screens’ technology in a small number of stores, but no longer has them installed in any of its locations, a spokesman for the pharmacy chain said."
Cooler Screen Info
Operator: Walgreens; Kroger; CVS; GetGo, Chevron
Developer: Cooler Screens
Country: USA
Sector: Retail
Purpose: Personalise advertising
Technology: Advertising management system; Emotion recognition; Eye tracking; Facial scanning; Iris recognition; Recommendation algorithm; Voice recognition
Issue: Appropriateness/need; Privacy; Scope creep/normalisation
Transparency: Marketing; Privacy
Thoughts
Yes, that’s right. Iris recognition is intriguing in a very creepy way. I’m sure the results were amazing with my doordasher looking confused about my request for White Castle burgers while the fridge captured the driver, the emotions, tracked eyes and fed the data into the system.
Bad data is still data
The ramifications are profound even for those who don't shop online and don't pay with an identifying card such as a credit card. Some people therefore choose to wear a mask when they shop. Sadly, however, in some US states they now claim that mask-wearing is not legal and using the pandemic as a legitimate reason might not work.
The TOS aspect of this shall be covered later in the series. Here in the UK there's a law mandating that near the entrance to any shop with CCTV there should be a notice to say it's in operation. Whether that also covers fridges with cameras I do not know; maybe the law has not caught up with that "cool" trend just yet.
Next time you see someone at the local grocer wearing a mask don't call them "paranoid"; there are good reasons to wear one, even if the main concern isn't one of health.
A lot of the Orwellian grid isn't visible; it's made virtually invisible by intention. They don't want bad press and lawsuits. Gone are the days when cameras were just an instrument for capturing family moments and memories. Now it's "big business". █
