I have been thinking of surveillance for a long time. See Assume Everyone is Watching (September 2015); Judicial Bullying in the News (April 2018); The Evolving Issue of Body Cameras (July 2018); Who Ya Gonna Believe (November 2018); Artificial Intelligence Surveillance (August 2020); Surveillance, Conflicting Rights, and Balance (May 2021); Pay Attention (July 2023); Optics and Options (September 2025); Triggered (September 2025); and Is Privacy Gone (January 2026).
Surveillance, facial recognition, and technology are increasingly part of our personal privacy and even perspectives. Everyone is getting in on the movement. In 2023, some claimed that "20% of U.S. internet households have a video doorbell." Two years later, the New York Post reports that "eight in 10 American homes now contain smart tech," and "35 percent have doorbells that inform them of visitors."
Recently, according to Fox4, a grocery chain in the northeast is "collecting biometric data on anyone who enters their stores in" some locations. Pursuant to government regulations there, it "has posted mandated signage to notify customers about the technology." Their system apparently collects facial recognition data "on everyone who enters the store."
This is being portrayed as a safety precaution. The company has noted that the collected data is used only "to identify individuals who have been previously flagged for misconduct."
Furthermore, they assert that "Images and video are retained only as long as necessary for security purposes and then disposed of." The company also stresses that it does "not share facial recognition scan data with any third party."
Ben Franklin is credited with writing, "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." That is more directly focused on government action or threat, and the will of the people to stand for their own rights. And, it is reasonably clear that we already have little to no privacy in public places. See Is Privacy Gone (January 2026).
CNN reports this grocer is not alone. It asserts, "The biggest chains in America are using facial recognition technology to try to stop shoplifting." But, unlike the grocer example cited, CNN claims that "most customers are unaware their faces are being scanned while they shop."
The authors assure that "New York City is one of the few places in the country that requires" disclosure. Therefore, they claim that there is broad "lack of oversight, transparency, and bias with facial recognition technology." As prevalent as this apparently is in the U.S. there is some suggestion that it is even more so in Europe.
One may wonder what spectrum of uses data is being put to in these other jurisdictions and instances. While the retailer featured in this story has made commitments not to share these images and other data, to even hold it only temporarily, what of the vast spectrum of retailers outside that venue? Are thousands of images of you being stored and shared by other cameras across the continent? World?
CNN warns that biometrics have "been misused," and that there have been allegations of "false identifications and wrongful arrests" associated with the systems. Somewhat less impairing, the systems have resulted in people being denied entrance to "sporting events and concerts in New York City."
The CNN story also stresses that there is minimal federal or state regulation on these programs, and that the use of these tools is allegedly very widespread among retailers.
