Australian retailer pauses facial recognition trial over privacy complaint

FILE PHOTO: The logos of Australian electronic goods retailers JB Hi-Fi and the privately-held 100-store rival The Good Guys are displayed at a shopping center in Sydney, Australia, May 19, 2016. REUTERS/David Gray

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's second-biggest appliances chain said on Tuesday it was pausing a trial of facial recognition technology in stores after a consumer group referred it to the privacy regulator for possible enforcement action.

Use of the technology by The Good Guys, owned by JB Hi-Fi Ltd, and two other retail chains was "unreasonably intrusive" and potentially in breach of privacy laws, the consumer group CHOICE told the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) in a complaint published on Monday.