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Resources and learning

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Rule 8 examples

A woman with short, curly hair flips through a notebook while browsing in a retail store. These scenarios are examples of how an agency might apply rule 8 in context.

Facial recognition by a retail store to operate a watchlist

A store uses FRT to identify individuals on a watchlist of previously violent customers to help improve staff and customer safety. When selecting the FRT provider, the store investigated several different systems with varying performance metrics, including different accuracy rates. A store uses FRT to identify individuals on a watchlist of previously violent customers to help improve staff and customer safety. When selecting the FRT provider, the store investigated several different systems with varying performance metrics, including different accuracy rates.

The store chooses to contract with a FRT provider of a system with a high level of accuracy. Given the significant impact on individuals and the store from any potential misidentifications (false positives and false negatives), it is reasonable in the circumstances for the store to choose a system that is highly accurate and reliable, compared to other options. 

The quality of the enrolment biometric samples is also important. The store only enrols individuals on to the watchlist if it has a sufficiently high-quality image from CCTV or another appropriate source. Using lower quality samples increases the risk and rate of misidentifications and may mean the system is not sufficiently accurate to comply with rule 8.

A black man, shown from the shoulders up, stands at a slight angle to the camera with a blank expression. A red laser line runs from his forehead to his chin, as though his face is being scanned. Facial recognition to control access to restricted site

A company is using FRT to control access to a restricted site. A staff member who should have access to the restricted site is falsely rejected (a false negative) by the FRT system. This single misidentification, in itself, wouldn’t necessarily be a breach of rule 8, provided the company had a process in place for the staff member to challenge the misidentification, the misidentification was not a systemic issue, and the company had a process in place to regularly review any misidentifications and revise the match sensitivity settings as appropriate.

 

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