Apple facial recognition system misidentifies 'shoplifter' Ousmane Bah

Occurred: May 2021

Apple and security contractor Security Industry Specialists (SIS) were sued for wrongfully accusing New York teenager Ousmane Bah of shoplifting.

Bah had been accused of shoplifting multiple times at Apple stores across the US east coast in 2018 and 2019, leading to his arrest. Bah subsequently sued Apple and SIS for defamation and malicious prosection, citing the unreliable and racially biased nature of many facial recognition systems.  

The suit also accused one of the two companies of deleting video images of the purported crimes, despite them surfacing during discovery, and alleged that a senior SIS executive denied the company ever identified Bah to Apple or to the NYPD, even though an SIS email to the NYPD suggested to the contrary. 

The suit also claimed that Apple and SIS selectively deleted video evidence that would have exposed them to potential criminal and civil liability for filing false complaints with the police.

In November 2021, Apple and Bah settled the suit on undisclosed terms.

Operator: Apple; Security Industry Specialists (SIS)
Developer: Security Industry Specialists (SIS)
Country: USA
Sector: Retail
Purpose: Verify identity
Technology: Facial recognition
Issue: Accuracy/reliability; Bias/discrimination - race
Transparency: Governance; Marketing: Privacy; Legal 

Legal, regulatory 👩🏼‍⚖️

Page info
Type: Incident
Published: December 2021