Exploratory Essay

Emily Cocchiola         

McKoy-1

English 2

4 September 2013

Mannequins That Watch You Shop

Do you ever feel as if you're being watched when nobody is there? If so, you might be right. Stores across the nation have been using EyeSee mannequins to help the stores business. While some people think that their face is not as important as a social security number, others might. The mannequins scan your face revealing your age, gender, and race. If you have ever been tagged in a picture on facebook, then these mannequins can find out exactly who, and where you are. While these mannequins might be good to help track and stop bad guys, they are an invasion of privacy to the common man and I. We already have to deal with surveillance cameras, for security reasons, and now this? EyeSee mannequins might be new across the globe, but they need to be put to a stop now.

The privacy acts of 1974 states, "Give a Privacy Act Statement (PAS) orally or in writing to the subject of the record when you are collecting information that will go in a system of records." When stores do have these EyeSee mannequins there is nothing posted about them being there, and a lot of the customers do not even know they exist. EyeSee mannequins use facial technology, so it is important to have warning about facial scanners because some people might not be comfortable with that. Other people might claim that the information is not being stored, but once it is recorded it will always be in the memory of the camera. In addition, The Air force Writer, states the whole privacy act of 1974, along with how to orally give or write a PAS. This website is dependable because it states the most recent update in the top left corner. It is also dependable because it is quoting the law, with information explaining it. This website will help me with my research because it will help me argue that these mannequins are going against the privacy act. Starting off with this research has helped me make my point about the mannequins. It has helped me to do this by telling me what is and isn't an invasion of privacy. I personally did not know until I did this research, and there are a lot of people out in the world that do not know of the privacy act either. In the article, Mannequins Eyes are Watching You, it states, "the computer contains facial recognition software, as well as, audio, and video recording capabilities." This article helped defend my point that they finding out unneeded information about the shoppers without their permission. They say that the information being collected is not used in any harmful way, but why does it matter? It is still our personal information.

I would like to do further research on EyeSee mannequins being an invasion of privacy because I want students to know about the technology they are using in the world today. I want everyone to come to a realization that anyone can watch them at anytime. For stores wanting to increase business does not have to become a privacy issue. A possible argument that I make is, are these EyeSee mannequins an invasion of privacy or not? Although some people might now seem to think so, I do, and it will be a great opportunity to grab a hold of all this new technology. Research helped me to come up with my essential question: "Should stores be allowed to use facial recognition technology without consent of their customers?" To develop my thesis statement more which states, I do not think stores should be allowed to use facial recognition technology without consent of the customer; I did more research and analyzing on the mannequins themselves, proving that they go against the privacy act.

Works Cited

Henley, Nicole. “Mannequin Eyes Are Watching You.”  Techcrunch.com. 14 August 2013. HubPages. 28 August 2013. <http://nicolehenley.hubpages.com/hub/Almax-Mannequins-Their-Eyes-are-Watching-You.>

Lee, Nicole. “EyeSee mannequins used to spy on shoppers, confirm paranoid fears.” Engadget.com. 20 Nov 2012. Engad. 28 August 2013. <http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/20/eyesee-mannequins/>.

“Privacy Act Statement.” www.airforcewriter.com.  2013. Air Force Writer. 1 September 2013. <http://www.airforcewriter.com/privacy_act_statement.htm>.