A WALMART customer has accused the shopping giant of invading her privacy after noticing a security camera while she was in a changing room.
A returning customer of Walmart in Edmonton, Canada, Danielle Donaldson said she noticed a hidden security camera in the dressing room while trying on sports bras.
“The camera caught my attention above me. It not only can see in, it literally is to the side above the change room … I feel so violated and disgusted,” she wrote on Facebook.
Feeling exposed, Donaldson took a photo of the video recorder and hunted down the store supervisor to express her frustration.
“I didn’t feel like it was addressed like I expected it to be. I showed her the picture I took, and she said, ‘It’s fine,’ and I ended up leaving there kind of confused,” she explained to CTV News Edmonton.
Feeling concerned for other shoppers in the area, Donaldson continued the conversation on her Facebook account.
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The post has been shared more than 2,000 times.
“I don’t think it’s just me at this point who’s been exposed to this camera in this change room,” she said.
After viewing the post, Teresa Sexauer visited the store and noticed that the camera was still installed but covered by tape.
“I have three daughters and all my kids were in here trying on bathing suits and shorts and tops and bras,” she explained.
Angry and confused, Sexauer asked the staff questions about the security camera.
“Basically they said that the cameras were dummy cameras and that they didn’t work, there was no power to them. They were having them removed,” she recalled.
Walmart told CTV News that the camera doesn’t capture video or images and isn’t a working device.
“The non-operational camera is there as a deterrent for theft. However, we understand the concerns raised and it will be moved,” Corporate Affairs Manager Felicia Fefer wrote in a statement.
This isn’t the first time the superstore was in boiling hot water.
On September 1, customer James Luthe filed a lawsuit against a Walmart in Illinois, alleging that they were collecting, storing and using customer biometric data without their knowledge through their security camera and advanced systems throughout their stores.
If this action were to take place, the company would be violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act that was created in 2008 that requires “entities, including employers, that collect biometric data to follow a number of protocols,” per The National Law Review.
Donaldson isn’t too pleased with how Walmart responded to her own concern and followed up with the local police station.
Unfortunately, she could not get the answers she was searching for as they told her they would not investigate this situation.
“I feel like I’ve been filmed when I was in a vulnerable state. How can I just take their word for reassurance? I don’t believe it. They haven’t provided any proof,” she said.
Not defeated, Donaldson said she would not back down, although she does not know who to contact next.
Walmart did not immediately respond to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
