Amazon service accused of biometric spying

Amazon Go cashless stores have been accused of violating New York City regulations by allegedly hiding the collection of customers' biometric identifiers. According to the law adopted at the city level back in 2021, establishments that record biometric data of visitors must place information signs about it in a prominent place.

The class-action lawsuit against the tech giant states that the Amazon Go store on Pine Street did not have any visual warnings. One of the plaintiffs, Rodriguez Persaud, claims that on February 7, 2023, he sent a letter to the company and noted the absence of any information signs. According to him, Amazon representatives ignored his letter, and the sign did not appear in the store «immediately.»

An Amazon spokesperson denied the allegations. He said that the company does not use face recognition in stores. Instead, Amazon identifies visitors by their palm print.

«People are provided with privacy information during the registration process. The customer always controls the identification with the palm of his hand,» the company said.

Amazon opened the first cashless store in New York in 2019. The service allows registered and verified customers to take any goods from the shelves and pay for them on a cashless basis.

The company says it uses computer vision and machine learning algorithms to track consumers' «virtual carts». The system is able to take into account the number of items taken, as well as remove goods that the visitor has returned to the shelf. Shoppers can enter the store by scanning a QR code in the app, holding a credit card to the scanner, or hovering their palm over the sensor.