this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2024
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In a letter Friday to Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) said the plans — which involve using facial recognition tools in digital displays to target advertising to customers and collect information on them — potentially pave the way for biased pricing discrimination.

“Studies have shown that facial recognition technology is flawed and can lead to discrimination in predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods,” Tlaib wrote in the letter, which was posted on social media Tuesday. “The racial biases of facial recognition technology are well documented and should not be extended into our grocery stores.”

Kroger is the largest grocery store chain in the country with nearly 3,000 stores and $3.1 billion in profits in 2023. Kroger and other retailers already use electronic shelving labels instead of paper labels to rapidly adjust prices based on a variety of factors, including time of purchase, where a grocery store is located and other data.

The plan to use facial recognition technology could allow the retailer to build individual profiles on customers, based on data like their gender and shopping habits.

In an August letter sent to McMullen about the same plans, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bob Casey (D-PA) said they were concerned about the chain building “personalized profiles of each customer, and then use those profiles ‘to determine how much price hiking each of us can tolerate,’ quickly updating and displaying the customer’s maximum willingness to pay on the digital price tag.”

The use of facial recognition tools in Kroger stores also raises concerns about how Kroger intends to “adequately” safeguard customer data, the Warren and Casey letter said.

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[–] dan@upvote.au 130 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

“To be clear, Kroger does not and has never engaged in ‘surge pricing,’” the statement said. “Any test of electronic shelf tags is designed to lower prices for more customers where it matters most.”

Isn't that the same thing? It doesn't matter if you raise prices on demand or lower them, the outcome is the same - different pricing at different times.

[–] Letstakealook@lemm.ee 81 points 2 weeks ago

This is all a misunderstanding! The high price IS the regular price. We lower the prices at certain times to benefit our customers, who we love so very much. This is totally not surge pricing!

[–] rand_alpha19@moist.catsweat.com 33 points 1 week ago (2 children)

"Well, you see, 'surge pricing' means raising prices during the most high-traffic times. Here at Kroger, we pride ourselves in raising prices slightly before and after the peak times, and that's technically not surge pricing! It's just dynamic pricing with surge characteristics."

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[–] abigscaryhobo@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Yeah see it's not surge pricing! We actually lower prices whentheresnobodyintheaisle so that the discounts are passed on to you! Also we list the lowered price in the ads and apps so when you come in you can be surprised by power of our tech! and the updated price

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[–] just_another_person@lemmy.world 95 points 2 weeks ago (14 children)

We need a law in the US banning the use of computer assistance for identifying humans. Hands down. It's not accurate, and it only emboldens people controlling resources.

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[–] MajorHavoc@programming.dev 54 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

I think they are absolutely, positively, going to breach their face database and everyone's purchase history all over the Internet.

I've been watching for an event like this with popcorn ready.

I've got a good/bad/terrible feeling that they're playing for keeps in the race to be the biggest consumer privacy headline public relations disaster.

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[–] ItsComplicated@sh.itjust.works 48 points 1 week ago (2 children)

If companies can't protect the information they collect now, (a large portion of it gathered without consent), how are they going to protect even more information; and where can I opt out?....smh

[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 24 points 1 week ago (6 children)

The opt out comes in the form of a can of spraypaint.

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[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 18 points 1 week ago (6 children)

Two options:

  • wear something that prevents facial recognition (something like Reflectacles, for example)
  • don't shop at Kroger

I'm doing the latter, but I'm probably going to pick up some anti-facial recognition stuff as well, just to screw with the various other orgs that do this (gonna try going through the airport w/ them as well the next time I travel).

[–] grue@lemmy.world 21 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (4 children)

Third option: force the government to outlaw this bullshit

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[–] PunnyName@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago (1 children)
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[–] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.world 47 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (11 children)

Kroger also owns: Ralphs, Dillons, Smith’s, King Soopers, Fred Myer, Fry’s, QFC, City Market, Owen’s, Jay C, Pay Less, Baker’s, Gerbes, Harris Teeter, Pick‘n Save, Metro Market and Mariano’s.

[–] Coreidan@lemmy.world 19 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

Thank fuck I haven’t heard of a single one of those stores and have never shopped in them

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[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Missed Fred Meyer, which is huge in the PNW.

I don't shop at any of those, mostly because it's not my closest grocery store. It is the biggest though, I just don't want to drive the extra 10 min to go there vs my local one w/ competitive prices.

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[–] futatorius@lemm.ee 33 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This is a privacy intrusion that should be banned nationally.

[–] Flocklesscrow@lemm.ee 23 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (5 children)

The US government should already be breaking up Kroger for its monopolistic practices.

I suspect most of the C Suite is simply waiting for whatever they see as the peak of their share price to sell off everything and move on to their next parasitic host.

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[–] whotookkarl@lemmy.world 30 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Surge pricing=price gouging, there is no difference

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[–] wrekone@lemmyf.uk 29 points 1 week ago (2 children)

A Kroger spokesperson said in a statement that the company’s business model is built on a “foundation of lowering prices to attract more customers.” “To be clear, Kroger does not and has never engaged in ‘surge pricing,’” the statement said. “Any test of electronic shelf tags is designed to lower prices for more customers where it matters most.”

I know these PR people get paid a lot to tell bald-faced lies, but I just don't understand how they live with themselves.

[–] Etterra@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Because they're high-functioning sociopaths. About 1 in 100 people are, and they tend to gravitate into executive, sales, legal, marketing, "law" enforcement, and other careers where having little to no empathy or conscience is a distinct advantage.

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[–] theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world 29 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Oh no, I accidentally smudged a little bit of paint over the facial recognition camera lens... Oops!

[–] Linktank@lemmy.today 28 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Going to be hard to do when it's under a little black dome 45 feet up in the air. Also there's dozens of them...

[–] theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Be careful to never shine a 20mW green laser into the lens of a camera!!

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[–] shininghero@pawb.social 10 points 1 week ago

Oh no, I accidentally put paint in a super soaker and it squirted upwards on the camera! Silly me, I'm such a klutz!

[–] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 week ago

sounds like a sombrero situation

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[–] atrielienz@lemmy.world 29 points 1 week ago

Mask mandates may not be in effect but I can wear one to the grocery store. This is stupid and I will not participate.

[–] EndOfLine@lemm.ee 22 points 2 weeks ago

Well, they wrote some letters. There's nothing more the nations law makers can do to protect citizens from corporate greed and price gouging. /s

[–] dan@upvote.au 22 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

In the USA, facial recognition isn't legal in some states (e.g. the company needs written permission from the individual to collect their facial data in Illinois), and other stores have had issues with facial recognition (e.g. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/12/rite-aid-banned-using-ai-facial-recognition-after-ftc-says-retailer-deployed-technology-without) so I'm not sure how Kroger think they'll succeed with this.

[–] MajorHavoc@programming.dev 8 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Honestly, they'll probably miss that and pay massive fines in Illinois. It seems to be the traditional approach by companies that get into facial recognition to also not bother to listen to anyone who could have told them not to.

[–] aesthelete@lemmy.world 19 points 1 week ago

We need a large, well-organized movement to demand that the government add a right to privacy to the US Constitution.

[–] Badeendje@lemmy.world 17 points 1 week ago

This is how you end up with laws mandating paper cards with pricing information.

[–] PunnyName@lemmy.world 15 points 1 week ago

And it definitely won't negatively affect people of color, at all, will it?

[–] rand_alpha19@moist.catsweat.com 13 points 1 week ago (2 children)

What's the benefit to the customer here? Idk if a store where I live started doing this, I would just stop going there. I know that can be difficult with the grocery monopolies in a lot of places, but I would try my hardest.

I think facial recognition should be banned outright because it's highly inaccurate, racially biased, and used improperly by law enforcement. But in cases like this, even just a ban for all non-law enforcement applications would be really helpful. People don't benefit from this! Just corporations, and barely so.

In my work as a government contractor, I witnessed the use of facial recognition for access control (getting into certain parts of a building) in exactly 1 building (of several dozens) and it was so completely unnecessary that I was left wondering what kind of nepotism or budget surplus lead to the implementation of such a lame security tool.

[–] socphoenix@midwest.social 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The problem is everything is a massive chain so as one goes, so goes them all so to speak. I have Kroger, Albertsons, and Walmart as my only choices for grocery store. I don’t see any chance that if Kroger does this Albertsons (assuming the proposed Kroger Albertsons merger fails) and Walmart don’t do the same.

Tl;dr it doesn’t need to benefit the customer if the customer has no real choice in where they shop

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[–] MajorHavoc@programming.dev 12 points 1 week ago (2 children)

What's the benefit to the customer here?

There's no intended benefit to the customer.

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[–] firepenny@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Kroger is one of the more expensive grocery stores in my area. Less reason to go now. Aldi is the way

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[–] Zoboomafoo 9 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

There's no way lawmakers stop this, so anyone know a way to wear a mask in public without looking like a lunatic?

[–] Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone 19 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I haven’t stopped wearing an N95 in public since 2020. I’m not going to say nobody has ever been weird to me about it, but the vast majority of people are more interested in my colorful hat than my mask. YMMV depending on location.

[–] Zerlyna@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

That’s a good idea. I don’t shop at Kroger but it’s only a matter of time for others to try this.

[–] uid0gid0@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

You could just become a fan of Insane Clown Posse

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[–] RobertoOberto@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

...attracting criticism from lawmakers, who warn it could...

Oh my, if only there were someone with the resources and authority to do something about it.

[–] lemmeBe@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 week ago

This is appalling.

So nice to live in the Balkans where prices are still on paper, and in some stores you can still barter depending on the quantity you're buying. 😄

[–] XaiwahBlue@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 1 week ago

I've been pretty lazy about changing stores since they had the easiest pick up i had found in my area, but i guess this is the ass kick i need to make sure i never go back.

Sucks they own almost all the groceries in my area. But i can trust that it's not a monopoly, right?

Groceries prices deeeeefinately aren't inflated. Nope. All good here.

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