Private Businesses

When shoppers walk into a grocery store, they expect security cameras. Few expect the store to analyze their faces, eyes, and voices. Earlier this year, customers entering some Wegmans stores in New York City learned that the retailer was using facial recognition technology in its locations and storing customers’ biometric data. The disclosure, required under a 2021 city ordinance governing biometric collection, initially drew little attention beyond the city. But when the Buffalo-based Investigative Post asked whether Wegmans was also using the technology in Western New York stores, the company’s lack of response drew concern from local lawmakers.