Apple denies using face recognition in its stores after teen sues over false arrest

Ousmane Bah has pretty solid alibi during the time frame that police say a thief used his name and ID and stole from an Apple store in Boston. He was at his senior prom.

Bah, 18, has filed a lawsuit against Apple alleging that the tech company’s facial recognition system led to his false arrest for theft. Bah claims that a thief stole his learner’s permit ID, which included his name and address, but not a photo, and used it at an Apple store. Bah believes Apple then linked his name and address to the thief’s face in its facial-recognition system, so when the thief went on to rip off Apple stores in New Jersey, Delaware, and Manhattan, Apple pinned the crimes on Bah, who was then arrested and charged.

An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit directly, but said the company does not use face recognition technology in its stores.

Bah claims he only learned about the charges against him when he received a Boston municipal court summons in the mail in June, according to court papers. Then the NYPD arrested him on November 29. However, after a detective on the case reviewed surveillance footage from the Manhattan store, the detective quickly concluded that the suspect “looked nothing like” Bah. All charges against Bah have been dismissed, save for a case in New Jersey, according to the New York Post.

On Monday, Bah filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Apple for its “Orwellian surveillance” system that he says falsely linked him to the crime spree, which apparently caused $1 billion worth of “severe stress and hardship.”