Privacy campaigners have slammed Iceland's "chilling" use of facial recognition technology in stores
The frozen food retailer has begun trialling the surveillance technology in two stores and is planning a wider rollout.
This is being provided by Facewatch, a security firm used by a number of retailers, including Home Bargains.
This measure involves the use of specialised cameras that check faces and match them to a database of those deemed to have committed a crime previously, according to The Grocer.
If this occurs, staff are sent an alert so that action can be taken, but if a match is not found, the data is immediately deleted.
Iceland's 'chilling' use of facial recognition technology slammed by campaigners
However, this trial has been slammed by privacy campaigners with Big Brother Watch (BBW) calling the rollout "chilling".
Slamming the technology and its use, the group took to X, formerly Twitter, to say: "Iceland's rollout of facial recognition is chilling
"Thousands of people will have their privacy rights violated just to buy basic necessities, and Iceland will turn its shoppers into suspects, making them submit to a biometric identity check as part of their daily lives."
The group added that Facewatch has already been "embroiled in a scandal" because their technology falsely accused a woman of shoplifting.
BBW concluded its tweet by telling the company to abandon the rollout and to put its customers' "privacy first".
It added that the Government "must act to rein in the unchecked expansion of this intrusive technology."
🚨 BREAKING 🚨 Iceland's rollout of facial recognition is chilling ❄️ Thousands of people will have their privacy rights violated just to buy basic necessities, and Iceland will turn its shoppers into suspects, making them submit to a biometric identity check as part of their… pic.twitter.com/r49fTxVRNP
— Big Brother Watch (@BigBrotherWatch) June 24, 2025
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Discussing the rollout of the technology, an Iceland spokesperson said: "Following a robust due diligence process, we can confirm that our facial recognition trial is now live in two stores and will expand further this year".
The representative added: "This is part of our continued investment into tackling violent retail crime and protecting the safety of our colleagues and customers."
Iceland has been approached for comment by Newsquest.
