Using a technology called facial age estimation, John Lewis' online store can now check whether shoppers are over 18 without needing to see their ID.

Sports Direct, Spar, Budgens, Costcutter and Southern Co-op are now among the growing number of British retailers using a controversial Chinese state-owned facial-recognition system. The biometric cameras work by scanning the faces of shoppers so they can be checked against a database of suspected criminals. But they have been branded'Orwellian' and'unlawful' by critics, who claim that staff could add people to a secret'blacklist' without them knowing. So how does the facial-recognition system work, and which shops are already using it? Here, MailOnline breaks down everything you need to know about the controversial technology.

Supermarkets are calling for new laws that let them use AI to verify a customer is over-18 when buying alcohol. The British Retail Consortium said age estimation technology would make stores'a safer place to work and shop'. Shop assistants face over 1,300 incidents of violence and abuse every day, with staff asking to check a customer's age one of the most common triggers. The call comes after successful trials by the Home Office at several UK retailers including Tesco, Asda and Morrisons over the past year. To prove their age, shoppers buying alcohol are asked to look at a camera installed in the self-checkout to undertake a facial scan.

Co-Op is facing a legal challenge to its'Orwellian' and'unlawful' use of facial recognition cameras. Privacy rights group Big Brother Watch claimed supermarket staff could add people to a secret'blacklist' without them knowing. But Co-Op says it is using the Facewatch system in shops with a history of crime, so it can protect its staff. Big Brother Watch said the independent grocery chain had installed the surveillance technology in 35 stores across Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Bristol, Brighton and Hove, Chichester, Southampton and London. It claimed staff could add individuals to a watch-list where their biometric information is kept for up to two years.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has claimed that'contactless corridors' at UK airports will let British citizens skip passport queues and breeze through border controls in just two years' time. It is thought the corridors will use concealed cameras to scan people's faces as they walk through, and compare them with a digital database of details that all visitors will have to submit before travelling – possibly via an app. If a match is found, they will be cleared for entry into the UK without having to stop or scan their passport, while those that don't match will be redirected back to customs. The UK government will be trialling the corridors at airports in 2024, prior to a full rollout planned for 2025. The new automated border screening system would replace having to go through an eGate or speaking to a Border Force officer.

MPs have called for a ban on two Chinese CCTV systems that are used by councils, schools, and police forces across the UK. A group of 67 MPs and Lords including Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and four ex-Conservative ministers is urging the government to ban the sale and use of Hikvision and Dahua cameras. The calls come amid concerns the CCTV cameras can recognise faces, eavesdrop on conversations, and judge people's moods. The Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group, are the majority population in Xinjiang. More than a million Uyghurs and other minorities are estimated to have been detained at camps in Xinjiang, where allegations of torture, forced labour and sexual abuse have emerged.

Microsoft is retiring a controversial facial recognition feature that claims to identify emotion in people's faces from videos and photos. As part of an overhaul its AI policies, the US tech giant is removing facial analysis capabilities that infer emotional states, like surprise and anger, from Azure Face. It's also retiring the ability of the technology platform to identify attributes such as gender, age, smile, hair and makeup. Microsoft's Azure Face is a service for developers that uses AI algorithms to detect, recognise, and analyse human faces in digital images. It is used in scenarios such as identity verification, touchless access control and face blurring for privacy.

It seems even farm animals in China can't avoid being tracked by the latest technology. Vert City Farm, based in Shanghai, is now trialing facial recognition technology to stop incest among its flock, which could be set for a full rollout in 2022. The artificial intelligence (AI) technology uses a camera to track goats that are housed together that may be related to one another, based on colour-coding. If two related goats start trying to mate, the technology will send staff members at the farm updates on their phone so they can put a stop to it. The system will'improve work efficiency and quality of livestock' by eliminating incest-related birth defects.

As the US continues to deal with the economic fallout of the pandemic, many states are requiring residents to submit to a facial-recognition software program to collect unemployment benefits. Currently 25 states are using ID.me, a Virginia-based online identity network, CNN reports. Two more have signed contracts and at least seven others are in discussions. To register with ID.me, clients verify their identity online--comparing a valid photo ID with a video selfie taken on their phone. State agencies say they are trying to trim processing time and address the rising tide of benefits fraud that's developed during the pandemic.

The typical American is recorded by security cameras 238 times a week, according to a new report from Safety.com. That figure includes surveillance video taken at work, on the road, in stores and in the home. The study found that Americans are filmed 160 times while driving, as there are about an average of 20 cameras on a span of 29 miles. And the average employee has been spotted by surveillance cameras at 40 times a week. However, for those who frequently travel or work in highly patrolled areas the number of times they are captured on film skyrockets to more than 1,000 times a week.