‘Squad’ member Tlaib accuses Kroger of using facial recognition to plan price surges – Washington Examiner
Representative Rashida Tlaib, a member of the progressive “Squad,” has accused grocery retailer Kroger of potentially using facial recognition technology to implement a price surge strategy. Her concerns, echoed by lawmakers including Senators Bob Casey and Elizabeth Warren, stem from Kroger’s recent announcement about replacing paper price tags with Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs), which can adjust prices dynamically throughout the day.
Tlaib argues that the integration of ESLs with facial recognition could lead to the creation of customer profiles based on age and gender, enabling Kroger to set prices based on what customers might be willing to pay, thereby exacerbating price gouging during tough economic times for families. She expressed her concerns in a public post, emphasizing that the use of such technology in grocery stores is discriminatory and detrimental to local residents, particularly those already struggling financially.
‘Squad’ member Tlaib accuses Kroger of using facial recognition to plan price surges
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), a progressive “Squad” member, accused grocery giant Kroger of plotting to use new technology in a price surge scheme.
Lawmakers have been sounding the alarm on Kroger’s use of facial recognition technology since at least August, when Sens. Bob Casey (R-PA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sent a letter warning Kroger about adopting the technology. Tlaib joined the fray Wednesday, accusing the technology of being discriminatory.
“Families are struggling to put food on the table. I sent a letter to @Kroger about their decision to roll out surge pricing using facial recognition technology,” she said in an X post. “Facial recognition technology is often discriminatory and shouldn’t be used in grocery stores to price gouge residents.”
Kroger announced the replacement of paper price tags with Electronic Shelving Labels, which allow employees to rapidly change prices based on different factors throughout the day. The combination of ESLs with facial recognition technology is raising fears that the two could be combined to create personalized profiles of customers and dynamically raise prices.
“ESLs or digital price tags may result in Kroger deploying dynamic pricing for goods, increasing the price of essential goods on shelves based on real-time conditions and inventory and creating both confusion and hardship for my residents,” Tlaib said. “Additionally, through a partnership with Microsoft, I understand that Kroger is intending to place cameras at its digital displays, using facial recognition technology to determine the gender and age of customers captured on camera to present targeted advertisements to display on ESLs.”
“ESLs will allow Kroger to use customer data to build personalized profiles of each customer to determine the maximum price of goods customers are willing to pay,” she continued. “Kroger’s use of facial recognition technology and surge pricing is concerning when we are hearing growing complaints about the rising cost of groceries at big retailers. High grocery prices are one of the leading concerns among Americans who are concerned about inflation.”
Kroger, the largest supermarket chain in the United States, debuted the new technology in 2018 and rapidly expanded to use it in 500 stores by 2023. It has since spread to other stores.
Warren and Casey’s letter voiced concerns similar to Tlaib’s.
“Through a partnership with Microsoft, Kroger plans to place cameras at its digital displays, which will use facial recognition tools to determine the gender and age of a customer captured on camera and present them with personalized offers and advertisements on the EDGE Shelf. EDGE will allow Kroger to use customer data to build personalized profiles of each customer, and then use those profiles ‘to determine how much price hiking each of us can tolerate,’ quickly updating and displaying the customer’s maximum willingness to pay on the digital price tag,” the letter said.
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