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Shaving shoppers to be saved from surveillance?
Big Brother technology now trained on razor buyers. Hairy men beware...

By Jo Best

Published: Monday 21 July 2003

Consumer group Caspian is challenging Gillette over its trial of RFID technology on packs of Mach3 razors, now in place in supermarkets in the UK and the US.

Caspian – Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering – has taken issue with the company's 'smart shelf' system, and are demanding an explanation.

The Gillette tracking system senses when a product is removed from the shelf and takes a photograph of the shopper, which is then compared to another snap taken when the razors reach the checkout.

One such system was found to be in operation in a Massachusetts Wal-Mart supermarket, but it was removed shortly after Caspian queried its presence in the shop.

Katherine Albrecht, founder and director of Caspian, said in a statement that the organisation's members "want assurances from Gillette that they will clearly label their consumer products which contain RFID devices. Photographing and tracking of consumers without their consent is unacceptable".

A similar system was also found to be in operation in the UK, in a Tesco store in Cambridge.

While RFID supporters and retailers claim radio tracking technology is essential to maintain stock levels and avoid waste, civil liberties groups are worried the technology could be put to a more sinister use: the US defense department is said to be keen to develop the technology.