Questions business owners ask
Who is responsible if an alert is wrong?
If a wrong alert harms someone, the law lets them claim against Socioculus, the business, or both. Socioculus answers for the match and the list. The business answers for what its staff do. That is why staff check the photos before they act, ask instead of accuse, and never search or hold anyone.
Before you sign, we will tell you in writing what the member agreement covers, and what your staff must do to stay inside it: check the picture, ask politely, never search or hold anyone.
Is this legal?
It can be. UK law allows a business to use facial recognition to prevent crime only when it is necessary, proportionate and run with strong safeguards. The regulator has said the bar is high, because the camera checks everyone, not only suspects.
We will finish the legal steps on The law page before any camera checks a face.
What does it cost?
The planned price is £99.99 per shop per month for every member, from the start. You may need a camera for your door, and we will tell you what it costs before you agree to anything.
We will never sell data or use it for advertising, and the agreement with every member will say so.
What do hidden-item alerts look for?
Movements that can go with theft, such as an item going into a bag, a pocket or a coat. It does not recognise faces, and it cannot tell a theft from a customer who will pay. It sends your staff the clip, and they decide. It does not watch staff-only areas.
Do I have to watch every clip?
No. Nothing is reported unless a person watches the clip. A clip you do not get to is deleted after 24 hours, and nothing else happens.
Can I choose which parts I use?
Yes. You can use door alerts, hidden-item alerts, or both.
How accurate is it?
We do not know yet. Face matching and hidden-item alerts both make mistakes, and independent tests show that many face matching systems make more mistakes for some groups of people than for others.
Before launch we will test both on the cameras members use and publish the results, including false matches by age, sex and skin tone. We will test with photos and videos from volunteers who agree to it, never by recording customers. That is also why every clip and every alert asks staff to check, never to act.
Do you keep everyone's face?
No. A face code that does not match a report will be deleted at once. We will keep the picture of a person only when a report about them is on the list.
Can I see who is on the list?
No member will be able to search or browse the list. You will see a report only when that person walks into your business.
Do I need new cameras?
Probably one camera at your door, set up to see faces clearly. Hidden-item alerts are planned to use the cameras inside. We will confirm which cameras work during the pilot.
Do I still pay the data protection fee?
If your business uses CCTV to prevent crime, the law already requires you to pay the Information Commission's data protection fee. Socioculus does not change that.
Your business stays responsible for its own CCTV and its own reports. Socioculus gives you the signs, the templates and the training.
Will the police watch my cameras?
No. The police get a case file only when the businesses that made the reports decide to send it. They get no access to your cameras.
If the police ask us to search the list, we ask for the request in writing, answer only what the law allows, and keep a record of every request.
I run a pharmacy. Can an alert stop someone getting medicine?
Never refuse a prescription because of an alert. Reports say what kind of item was taken, never the name of a medicine.
Can we use it to ban people from every pub on the street?
No. Socioculus is only for theft. It is not a list of people barred for other reasons.
Can I refuse to serve someone after an alert?
You can refuse service as you can today, for any reason that is not discrimination. Each business decides for itself, and a person makes that decision after comparing the picture. Never search or hold anyone. The staff guide says what to do.