A faulty vending machine at a Canadian university has unintentionally exposed the fact that several of them have been covertly utilising facial recognition technology.
Earlier this month, a snack dispenser at the University of Waterloo displayed the error message "Invenda.Vending.FacialRecognition.App.exe" on the screen.
There was no prior notice that the machine was employing technology or that a camera was keeping an eye on the whereabouts and purchases of the students. Users' consent was not requested before their faces were scanned or processed.
"We wouldn’t have known if it weren’t for the application error. There’s no warning here,” stated River Stanley, who reported on the discovery for the university’s newspaper.
Invenda, the company that creates the machines, boasts the usage of "demographic detection software," which it claims can assess clients' gender and age. It claims that the technology complies with GDPR, and the European Union's privacy regulations, although it is uncertain whether it fulfils Canadian equivalents.
Last year in April, the national retailer Canadian Tyre violated British Columbia privacy rules by using facial recognition technology without customer consent. The government's privacy commissioner stated that even if the retailers had acquired consent, the firm failed to show an appropriate justification for collecting facial information.
In a statement, the University of Waterloo vowed to get rid of the Invenda machines "as soon as possible" and had "asked that the software be disabled" in the meanwhile.
Meanwhile, students at Ontario University responded by using gum and paper to cover the hole where they believe the camera is positioned.