'Orwellian' facial recognition cameras in UK stores challenged by rights group

FILE PHOTO: A surveillance camera is seen in the Kings Cross area in London, Britain, August 14, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

LONDON (Reuters) - Shoppers at a supermarket chain in southern England are being tracked by facial recognition cameras, prompting a legal complaint by a privacy rights group.

Big Brother Watch said Southern Co-operative's use of biometric scans in 35 stores across Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Bristol, Brighton and Hove, Chichester, Southampton, and London was “Orwellian in the extreme” and urged Britain's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to investigate whether it breaches data protection legislation.