Lawmakers raise concern, vow regulation of Mall of America's new facial recognition software
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — New facial recognition software recently implemented at Mall of America is raising concerns about privacy and data retention from a bipartisan pair of state lawmakers who vow to push for regulation next session.
The mall, the nation's largest, is using the technology to screen for security threats by capturing faces and matching them against their database of people of interest, like those flagged by law enforcement and others banned from the premises. This follows a few shootings there in recent years; a 19-year-old was killed during an incident in 2022.
The software can also be used to find individuals who go missing or could be in danger. A mall spokesperson vows they do not identify or store facial data of any person not determined to be a person of interest.
Sen. Eric Lucero, a Republican from St. Michael who works in cybersecurity, said he understands the intention to increase safety but is still skeptical.
He and Sen. Omar Fateh, DFL-Minneapolis, issued a joint statement following the news of the technology's implementation, sharing their concerns about privacy and data retention.
In an interview with WCCO, Lucero suggested that the state legislature implement a temporary ban on the technology until there are more safeguards in place. He has introduced many bills tackling artificial intelligence and emerging technology, including co-sponsoring a new law prohibiting "deepfakes" to influence elections.
"There needs to be regulation in place so that anybody considering deploying technologies, such as facial recognition, understands the limitations, and the data privacy issues and concerns have been addressed," Lucero said. "The law is not keeping up with technology. Rather than try to put regulations and guardrails and controls in place after the fact, it is absolutely reasonable to have a moratorium on the deployment of facial recognition technology until such controls can be created."
A mall spokesperson said in a statement they do not rely solely on facial recognition software when alerted to a potential match to a person of interest. Up to three people will verify that the right person is identified.
"Mall of America understands the importance of navigating between security and privacy and is confident that its limited use of facial recognition technology strikes the right balance. We take the safety of our guests, tenants, and team members very seriously," a spokesperson said by email. "This best-in-class system, and the integration of this technology along with procedural changes provides another layer of security at Mall of America."
Dr. Manjeet Rege, director of the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence at the University of St. Thomas, said he does not have concerns about the technology's use at the mall, citing the mall's statement that it does not retain the data of those captured on camera, but instead uses the live feed to find matches against an existing "person of interest" database.
He noted that facial recognition isn't anything new. It's used in airports, to unlock cellphones, and to identify friends on Facebook when someone is uploading a photo to the platform. But he said the technology has improved significantly so some algorithms have nearly 100% accuracy.
If that video was stored without the consent of people visiting the mall, that would be a concern, he said. But in this case, he believes it's an example of using AI for good.
"There's only so much human security can do, so it is extremely important that we deploy technology for everyone's safety," Rege said. "And this is a very good step in that regard."
Fateh in his statement vowed to act on concerns about data privacy and civil liberties "as soon as possible" when lawmakers return to St. Paul. The next legislative session begins in January.
"It is not yet clear how that data will be stored, distributed or protected from data breaches. The Mall of America is a major public institution for our state and should not take this dramatic new step without explaining to citizens how this would work, and why this invasion of privacy and violation of civil liberties is necessary," Fateh said.