Cadillac Fairview deployed facial recognition software at Calgary malls to track shoppers' ages and genders without notifying customers or obtaining consent, which was discovered when a browser window was accidentally left open on a mall directory.
At least two Calgary malls owned by Cadillac Fairview began using facial recognition technology in June to track shoppers without notification or consent. The software was discovered when a visitor to Chinook Centre spotted an accidentally opened browser window on a mall directory showing the MappedIn facial recognition software running in the background. The company confirmed the software is also used at Market Mall in Calgary and other malls nationwide. According to Cadillac Fairview, the software counts directory users and predicts approximate age and gender but does not record or store photos or video. The company stated they don't require consent because they aren't capturing or retaining images, and the aggregate data is used to understand usage patterns and create better shopper experiences. Privacy advocates expressed concern that shoppers are not notified, have no opportunity to opt out, and that multiple data points could be combined to create detailed profiles. Under Alberta's Personal Information Privacy Act, the practice is legal since recordings aren't saved, but privacy experts warn the software could easily be adapted to collect additional data points.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
AI systems that memorize and leak sensitive personal data or infer private information about individuals without their consent. Unexpected or unauthorized sharing of data and information can compromise user expectation of privacy, assist identity theft, or cause loss of confidential intellectual property.
Human
Due to a decision or action made by humans
Intentional
Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed
No population impact data reported.