INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
India does not have laws governing the collection of biometric data
Indians have expressed concern after it emerged that a popular cafe chain - Chaayos - is using facial recognition software to bill
Nikhil Pahwa, the editor of media watchdog MediaNama, posted a video on Twitter after he said staff took his picture to bill him without
consent."This is unnecessarily intrusive and there was no opt-out option, which is problematic," Mr Pahwa told the
TheIndianSubcontinent.Chaayos defended its system, saying it was committed to protecting customers."We are extremely conscious about our
customer's data security and privacy," the company said in a statement to the TheIndianSubcontinent.The chain also said that customers could
choose to opt out of using the facial recognition feature and instead use their phone numbers to pay bills
However, Mr Pahwa told the TheIndianSubcontinent that the facial recognition system was a mandatory requirement for joining its loyalty
He added that his picture had been taken despite the fact he was not a part of it.More worryingly, according to Mr Pahwa, Chaayos' terms and
conditions - also seen by the TheIndianSubcontinent - says that customers "should not expect that personal information should always remain
private".Media playback is unsupported on your deviceMedia captionHow does facial recognition technology work?The terms also say that by
joining the loyalty programme, users authorise it to "disclose information to government authorities or competent authorities or credit
bureaus or third persons".However, in its statement, Chaayos said "there is no third party sharing of the data for any purpose
And Chaayos does not use or process this information for any other purpose"
Mr Pahwa said his worry was that "customers are not made aware of the implications of giving out this data, so this is not informed
consent."Mr Pahwa's tweets about his experience picked up traction on social media, with a number of users coming forward to share their
experiences at the chain, while others described similar incidents elsewhere
Many have expressed concern.India does not have laws governing the collection of biometric data and experts warn that this is not a
phenomenon limited to Chaayos alone
"This trend of private companies collecting vast volumes of biometric data with photos linked to user identity, phone numbers and other
details is deeply worrying
Hundreds of companies collect and store biometric data, often with no visible checks and balances, and no published privacy policies
In the absence of any privacy law in India, this is extremely worrying," technology expert Prasanto K Roy told the
TheIndianSubcontinent."For instance DLF, one of north India's top real-estate developers which has built and manages dozens of commercial
buildings, demands that a visitor first authenticate herself using a text message (OTP) password, and then on camera-equipped tablets placed
at the entrance, gets photographs taken of her face and her government-issued identity card, and sign off on the page
"They thus have a database which has my name, face, driving license, authenticated phone number, and signature
There is no option to opt out if I want to enter one of their buildings, or to delete my information
Such databases tend to leak, be sold for considerable sums of money, and be misused."
