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University vending machine error reveals use of secret facial recognition | A malfunctioning vending machine at a Canadian university has inadvertently revealed that a number of them have been usin... (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[+] [email protected] -27 points 8 months ago (12 children)

Everyone seems concerned about what it could be doing, not what it is doing.

I could sit next to a vending machine and make notes on the gender and sex of each patron for demographic purposes, nothing would be illegal.

Why? Well, that's easy, I want to stock my vending machine in order to make money. Instead of testing different layouts which would take a lot of time, I could predict how well certain stock would do based on preexisting market research.

This appears to be just that, but with a camera.

Now, you can argue "but it could be worse"! That's not a valid argument. It could always be worse for things you don't know about. If it holds up to be true, as stated, it's just what it is.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

Bad analogy. If you were doing what you said, but instead of taking notes, you were using a camera, you'd quickly get a visit from the UW Special Constable Service who'd probably transfer you to WRPS.

EDIT: Even if you were just taking notes on people, it's possible you'd experience the same process.

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