**Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Co-Op used age verification technology from ‘digital identity’ company Yoti in a trial to control alcohol sales**
Supermarkets are one step closer to another alert at self-scan checkouts, alongside the dreaded “unidentified item in bagging area”, this one notifying staff of unlawful attempts to procure alcohol.
AI firms have deemed Home Office-backed trials of “age estimation technology” at retailers, including Tesco and Asda, to control alcohol sales a success.
Four supermarket chains – Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Co-Op – piloted age verification technology from “digital identity” company Yoti at a handful of stores, while three Bestway cash and carrys tested a “biometric solution” from another firm, Innovative Technology.
Yoti uses an AI algorithm to estimate a customer’s age from a facial scan at the self-service checkout.
It was set to refuse any customers deemed to be under the age of 25, and alerted a staff member to carry out their own check.
The scan lasted up to three seconds and all photographs were permanently deleted when the age estimation process had been completed, the Home Office said.
“We believe the trials were a great success,” said Yoti spokeswoman Rachael Trotman.
“There were no reported sales of underage customers purchasing age restricted items when using our age verification technology, and participating supermarkets confirmed they support digital age verification, and would welcome legislative change in this area.”
The Innovative Technology equipment scanned customers’ faces to assess their age from their facial features. It then flagged to staff if a person appeared to be under 25 and recommended a manual ID check.
The “anonymous age estimation” took place offline, so no images or data were stored, which the firm said “maintained privacy”.
Yet the result will almost certainly prompt fresh concerns from privacy campaigners, who have branded facial recognition cameras in stores “Orwellian”.
Last year, privacy rights group Big Brother Watch filed a legal complaint with the Information Commissioner arguing that Southern Co-operative’s use of biometric cameras in 35 convenience stores was “unlawful”.
The retailer defended their introduction as justified in a “limited number of high risk locations”, claiming they helped to prevent “violent attacks”.
The Home Office said of the trials at other retailers: “The work was an important step to further understanding of what needs to be in place to successfully embed age verification technologies into an existing robust monitoring and enforcement licensing regime.
“The trials generated a number of outcomes that provide important learning points for alcohol retailers and for those responsible for monitoring and enforcement.”
This isnt the aim of this plan, its probably going to be used for a load of other things like scanning you for potential shoplifting etc maybe photo based store cards with extra discounts.
“Use your eyes as your loyalty card and never forget it again”.
You dont go through massive expense to add cameras to tills to stop people buying alcohol. Especially when sales of alcohol already trigger staff members coming to check.
Dont believe a word of it.
Trojan Horse methinks.
Facial recognition is the ultimate tool for a controling government because a paper trail of your every past journey, even by foot, could be called up on a whim by a myriad of government departments.
I’m not sure the people who make money from the systems are the best people to judge whether they should be given more money for the systems.
But I guess that’s why I’m poor.
Well yes of course there weren’t any reported sales what did they think would happen “oh hey I’m actually 17 and I just brought this age restricted product at the self checkout till absolutely fine and no issues at all. Oh why am I getting in trouble now”
Add in that let’s be real here how many staff are going to be questioning whatever the machine says when they have much better things to do.
Then add in how they seem to have left out how many were classed as younger despite being older.
It’s almost as if this hasnt been designed to be an objective thorough assessment but instead just a way to start sneaking face scanning into daily life even more in the CCTV capital of Europe known as the UK
These systems will be used in future to ban you from purchasing food if you participated in a protest against the government.
It’s crazy people don’t protest this.
How about more staff on checkout rather than wasting money? All the “security” are drug addicts anyway.
This is funded by the HOME OFFICE. That should tell you all you need to. They will be able to hook into any camera and track people. The Home Office has no other reason for doing it. And the Home Office only has a remit of internal to the UK so it will be used in the UK against everyone
“This is your second packet of doughnuts this month, citizen”
Since when are you now a suspected terrorist when buying corn flakes? What sort of loonie in the Tory government approved this crazy notion to allow face scanning to be done before you can grab your Ginger Nuts off the scanner?
I’m curious to know, is there any sort of penalty/chuck you out of the store type thing that can happen if you were to cover the camera at the self service checkouts as you approach it, so it cannot see your face ? Is it going to lock the POS if no face/image feed is detected because someone put bluetac over the lens ?
I’ve noticed the cameras with the little screen feed in Co-Op and Sainsbury’s here recently. If people wanted to silently protest their use, what’s to stop them covering it ?
Every day theirs something new and depressing that pops up that involves our government.
How long until these are programmed to alert the Home Office for anyone that looks vaguely African/Asian/Latin American/Eastern European? Or to monitor the whereabouts of political dissidents? The Home Office isn’t sponsoring this in order to advance science.
We will become the product once more and this data will be used in various ways without us knowing. They will tell us that is fine and we have nothing to worry about, however that is easy to say but much harder to deliver. This will merely be a win for those companies who want access to the facial data of millions of people.
Would they be able to fit faces of known thieves or anti social shoppers and flagged yellow so security could pre-empt potential losses?
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**Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Co-Op used age verification technology from ‘digital identity’ company Yoti in a trial to control alcohol sales**
Supermarkets are one step closer to another alert at self-scan checkouts, alongside the dreaded “unidentified item in bagging area”, this one notifying staff of unlawful attempts to procure alcohol.
AI firms have deemed Home Office-backed trials of “age estimation technology” at retailers, including Tesco and Asda, to control alcohol sales a success.
Four supermarket chains – Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Co-Op – piloted age verification technology from “digital identity” company Yoti at a handful of stores, while three Bestway cash and carrys tested a “biometric solution” from another firm, Innovative Technology.
Yoti uses an AI algorithm to estimate a customer’s age from a facial scan at the self-service checkout.
It was set to refuse any customers deemed to be under the age of 25, and alerted a staff member to carry out their own check.
The scan lasted up to three seconds and all photographs were permanently deleted when the age estimation process had been completed, the Home Office said.
“We believe the trials were a great success,” said Yoti spokeswoman Rachael Trotman.
“There were no reported sales of underage customers purchasing age restricted items when using our age verification technology, and participating supermarkets confirmed they support digital age verification, and would welcome legislative change in this area.”
The Innovative Technology equipment scanned customers’ faces to assess their age from their facial features. It then flagged to staff if a person appeared to be under 25 and recommended a manual ID check.
The “anonymous age estimation” took place offline, so no images or data were stored, which the firm said “maintained privacy”.
Yet the result will almost certainly prompt fresh concerns from privacy campaigners, who have branded facial recognition cameras in stores “Orwellian”.
Last year, privacy rights group Big Brother Watch filed a legal complaint with the Information Commissioner arguing that Southern Co-operative’s use of biometric cameras in 35 convenience stores was “unlawful”.
The retailer defended their introduction as justified in a “limited number of high risk locations”, claiming they helped to prevent “violent attacks”.
The Home Office said of the trials at other retailers: “The work was an important step to further understanding of what needs to be in place to successfully embed age verification technologies into an existing robust monitoring and enforcement licensing regime.
“The trials generated a number of outcomes that provide important learning points for alcohol retailers and for those responsible for monitoring and enforcement.”
This isnt the aim of this plan, its probably going to be used for a load of other things like scanning you for potential shoplifting etc maybe photo based store cards with extra discounts.
“Use your eyes as your loyalty card and never forget it again”.
You dont go through massive expense to add cameras to tills to stop people buying alcohol. Especially when sales of alcohol already trigger staff members coming to check.
Dont believe a word of it.
Trojan Horse methinks.
Facial recognition is the ultimate tool for a controling government because a paper trail of your every past journey, even by foot, could be called up on a whim by a myriad of government departments.
I’m not sure the people who make money from the systems are the best people to judge whether they should be given more money for the systems.
But I guess that’s why I’m poor.
Well yes of course there weren’t any reported sales what did they think would happen “oh hey I’m actually 17 and I just brought this age restricted product at the self checkout till absolutely fine and no issues at all. Oh why am I getting in trouble now”
Add in that let’s be real here how many staff are going to be questioning whatever the machine says when they have much better things to do.
Then add in how they seem to have left out how many were classed as younger despite being older.
It’s almost as if this hasnt been designed to be an objective thorough assessment but instead just a way to start sneaking face scanning into daily life even more in the CCTV capital of Europe known as the UK
These systems will be used in future to ban you from purchasing food if you participated in a protest against the government.
It’s crazy people don’t protest this.
How about more staff on checkout rather than wasting money? All the “security” are drug addicts anyway.
This is funded by the HOME OFFICE. That should tell you all you need to. They will be able to hook into any camera and track people. The Home Office has no other reason for doing it. And the Home Office only has a remit of internal to the UK so it will be used in the UK against everyone
“This is your second packet of doughnuts this month, citizen”
Since when are you now a suspected terrorist when buying corn flakes? What sort of loonie in the Tory government approved this crazy notion to allow face scanning to be done before you can grab your Ginger Nuts off the scanner?
I’m curious to know, is there any sort of penalty/chuck you out of the store type thing that can happen if you were to cover the camera at the self service checkouts as you approach it, so it cannot see your face ? Is it going to lock the POS if no face/image feed is detected because someone put bluetac over the lens ?
I’ve noticed the cameras with the little screen feed in Co-Op and Sainsbury’s here recently. If people wanted to silently protest their use, what’s to stop them covering it ?
Every day theirs something new and depressing that pops up that involves our government.
How long until these are programmed to alert the Home Office for anyone that looks vaguely African/Asian/Latin American/Eastern European? Or to monitor the whereabouts of political dissidents? The Home Office isn’t sponsoring this in order to advance science.
We will become the product once more and this data will be used in various ways without us knowing. They will tell us that is fine and we have nothing to worry about, however that is easy to say but much harder to deliver. This will merely be a win for those companies who want access to the facial data of millions of people.
Would they be able to fit faces of known thieves or anti social shoppers and flagged yellow so security could pre-empt potential losses?