A 61-year-old man is suing Macy’s and the father or mother firm of Sunglass Hut over the usage of facial recognition tech that mistook him for an armed robber.
Harvey Murphy Jr. was recognized because the perpetrator of an armed theft at a Sunglass Hut retailer in 2022 and an earlier theft at Macy’s, based on a lawsuit filed earlier this month ​​— regardless of being practically 2,000 miles away on the time.
The lawsuit says that Murphy was assaulted and raped in jail after being arrested.
He was later launched with out cost after it emerged he had been in jail in Sacramento for unrelated expenses on the time of the armed theft, his legal professionals informed the Washington Put up.
His legal professionals mentioned that he has a legal document that dates again to the Eighties however that none of his offenses concerned violence. “Within the final 30 years, he has constructed a brand new life,” they mentioned.
Murphy was recognized because the perpetrator of the theft after the father or mother firm of Sunglass Hut — EssilorLuxottica — labored with its retail companion Macy’s to make use of facial recognition software program to investigate surveillance footage of the incident.
A warrant was then put out for Murphy’s arrest, with the 61-year-old being taken into custody when he went to the DMV to resume his license.
He’s now suing Macy’s, EssilorLuxottica, and three people concerned within the case for $10 million in damages for the bodily ache and “excessive psychological anguish” sustained within the arrest and subsequent assault.
Using facial recognition expertise in retail shops has come below rising scrutiny in recent times and fuelled fears that it might result in extra circumstances of mistaken arrests.
Final yr, the Federal Commerce Fee banned Ceremony Support from utilizing the tech in its shops after it falsely flagged hundreds of consumers as suspected criminals, with Black, Asian, Latino, and feminine customers the more than likely to be misidentified.
Macy’s and EssilorLuxottica didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from Enterprise Insider, made outdoors regular working hours.
