WHO'S THE DUMMY NOW?

STORE MANNEQUINS USING CAMERAS WITH FACIAL RECOGNITION AND MICROPHONES ARE WATCHING YOU AND RECORDING  YOUR EVERY MOVEMENT AND WORD

- The EyeSee Mannequin, developed by Italian firm Almax, relies on technology used to identify criminals in airports that utilizes facial recognition software to identify the race, age and gender of the shopper and feeds that information back to a centralized database and stored for your next trip to the mall or possibly linked to your local or federal law enforcement database for evaluation.The camera is embedded in the eye of the mannequin and microphones in the ears pick up every whisper as shoppers walk by. At the same time your smartphone is simultaneously identifying you while tracking  and locating you as you move around the mall -

The company refused to divulge which retailers were using the mannequins, but acknowledged that they were already being used in the United States. Lawyer Christopher Mesnooh also pointed out that since there is no warning that customers are being recorded, the mannequin spies could represent a violation of privacy laws. The company supplying the spy dummies claims the technology will not be used to identify individuals, despite the fact that the same technology is already being used to identify individuals in airports, how far away are we from the kind of nightmare scenario depicted in the following scene from Minority Report. According to the manufacturer, what sets the EyeSee apart is that it exists at eye level and invites customer attention. Almax is reportedly testing new technology that recognizes words to allow retailers to eavesdrop on what shoppers say about the mannequin’s attire and is looking to add screens next to the dummies to prompt customers about products relevant to their established customer profile. U.S. and EU regulations permit the use of security cameras, though retailers need to put up signs in their stores warning customers they may be filmed. Watching people solely for commercial gain may break laws  and must be viewed as gathering personal data without consent.

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