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Privacy advocates, security experts raise alarm over facial recognition technology

The biggest concerns are with privacy intrusion and mistaken identity, particularly in its identification of minorities.

PORTLAND, Oregon — A Southeast Portland Jacksons store is using technology straight out of a science fiction novel – technology that’s becoming more and more utilized in public and private spheres.

Jacksons Food Stores says facial recognition software was installed at their SE Grand Avenue location to prevent theft and potential danger. But privacy advocates and specialists feel the true danger here can be the technology itself.

You may not see it as you walk in, but it sees you. You don't have to smile for this camera; your face just needs to be visible because it's scanning you. The sign next to it reads: ‘look at camera for entry. Facial recognition in use.’

RELATED: Portland gas station using facial recognition technology to curb crime

Jacksons told KGW they store customers' images in a database for 48 hours unless a crime is committed. If you're flagged by their system, the doors will lock and you won't be able to get inside.

But the company hasn't returned emails asking exactly how they're using this technology and what they're flagging people for.

That's part of why its proliferation is troubling for privacy advocates. 

"It’s not a stretch to think there will be more and more of this kind of technology popping up in our lives that we do and don’t know about,” ACLU of Oregon communications director Sarah Armstrong said.

ACLU of Oregon is raising the alarm.

"Every person that walks in the store will have their face and body scanned and analyzed. So it makes us feel rightfully uncomfortable to think of that,” Armstrong said. “Once we open these kinds of cans of worms it's that much harder to roll it back.”

In cases like this, the ACLU says facial recognition is used for mass suspicion list surveillance. With private companies, transparency and accountability are lacking. Their concerns are similar to those they raise with government agencies taking advantage of the new surveillance; the union says say people will be put on a list and may not be able to uncover why or challenge it, there’s a lack of transparency in how the list is used or shared, and everyone whose face is scanned and stored is exposed to the potential of being misjudged or misidentified.

"There's these lists being created shared sold that we don't have any idea exist. If we have a problem being on the list we have no way to challenge it, no due process, there's unfairness in that,” Armstrong added.

Experts say facial recognition is being used more and more by the government and law enforcement - even as it's proven to be flawed and prone to error.

RELATED: ACLU calls out Amazon, Washington Co. sheriff's office for facial recognition tech

"It’s not a perfect technology. There have been a number of issues with false positives where people are identified as criminals when they are completely innocent and just happen to look like one,” technology and security specialist Ken Westin told KGW. “There's also been research showing there might be some racial and gender bias in some of these algorithms as well.”

The ACLU echoes the same uneasiness over racial disparities.

"We know already this technology more often misidentifies people of color. So there’s tons of concerns with exacerbating the racial profiling people of color often already face at stores anyway,” Armstrong added.

In its infancy, Westin says there is little regulation on how it's used by private companies. Facial recognition technology alone is unreliable, Westin says, unless paired with a password or fingerprint, as is being used for authentication.

"It could come down to a situation where a retailer starts using that to capture a lot of different images and then maybe they start to share that with other retailers and create a database of these images,” Westin added. "And they’re not law enforcement, they’re not experts in this particular technology, so there’s a lot of risk there.

Cybersecurity expert Kedma Ough sees benefits and downfalls, depending on how facial recognition is executed. But she says the last thing people want is to be surprised walking into a gas station.

"Part of the thing we’re always up against is where is our privacy, where is our freedom and where is our protection?” Ough said.

Her biggest concerns are with privacy intrusion and mistaken identity, particularly in its identification of minorities.

"What is the accuracy? Is it 100-percent accurate? Because as far as I'm aware there has not been proven data to show that and until we get there there's going to be mistakes,” Ough said.

It's a risky business.

Westin and Ough say they're sympathetic to businesses and owners dealing with crime, particularly shoplifting, but businesses must be aware of how technology this intrusive impacts customers.

“If this causes people to maybe not go there at all, what kind of impact is that going to have on the business as well?” Westin said.

Blue Line Technology designed the system at the Jacksons on Grand. On its website, the company says businesses can customize their own database. 

KGW learned Tuesday businesses can register as either "known", "unknown" or "alert". Someone's face has to register as "unknown" for the doors to open.

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