from the Daily Journal-Opinion newsletter
The Federal Trade Commission announced yesterday that Rite Aid has been banned from using facial recognition in its stores to track customers it suspects of criminal activity.
Rite-Aid has stores in Brattleboro, Windsor, Randolph, Bethel, and Springfield.
“When a customer entered a store who supposedly matched an existing image on its database, employees would receive an automatic alert instructing them to take action — and the majority of the time this instruction was to ‘approach and identify,’ meaning verifying the customer’s identity and asking them to leave,” reported TechCrunch. “Often, these ‘matches’ were false positives that led to employees incorrectly accusing customers of wrongdoing, creating ’embarrassment, harassment, and other harm,’ according to the FTC.”
In addition, not only did RiteAid fail to disclose to customers that facial recognition software was in use, but it instructed employees not to reveal this information.
Settlement announced over Google app store pricing – Vermont and New Hampshire are part of a $700 national settlement with Google over its noncompetitive practices with the Google Play Store.
“In this case, Google used its dominant market position to limit competition and harm consumers through commissions on in-app purchases by consumers. This settlement marks an important outcome, as it will have a lasting impact,” said New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella. “Google has agreed to modify its business practices in the Play Store. Our expectation is that this will truly open competition for app stores on Android devices and allow developers to offer cheaper and more competitive pricing of their apps and in-app purchases to consumers.”
Consumers who are eligible for restitution do not have to submit a claim – they will receive automatic payments through PayPal or Venmo, or they can elect to receive a check or ACH transfer.
Per the VT Attorney General’s Office, Google has also agreed to:
– Permit developers to steer consumers toward alternative, non-Google billing systems by advertising cheaper prices within their apps themselves for at least five years.
– Not enter contracts that require the Play Store to the be the exclusive, pre-loaded app store on a device or home screen for at least five years.
– Allow the installation of third-party apps on Android phones from outside the Google Play Store for at least seven years.