Facial recognition
 Facial recognition(biometric, AI, mass surveillance technology)   | |
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| Interest of | • Big Brother Watch • National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence |
Facial recognition technology is the automated recognition of individuals. It is being increasingly applied as CCTV cameras, rather than recording video footage are now directly feeding computers power with AI steered image recognition. It is increasingly effective and can now be tied to a large database for realtime lookup.
Legal status
In August 2019, a Dutch law took effect which banning face-covering clothing, including the burqa and niqab, associated with Moslem women.[1]
Usage
United States
In the US, the DOHS provides facial recognition data to private companies such as airlines.[2]
MSG Entertainment, the entity that owns the Radio City Music Hall in New York, has employed a rather controversial practice of placing lawyers who represent individuals suing the company on an "exclusion list." This list is designed to prevent them from attending concerts and sporting events hosted at venues owned by MSG Entertainment, including Radio City Music Hall, Beacon Theater, and Madison Square Garden, which is home to the NY Knicks and the Rangers.[3]
The CEO of MSG Entertainment, James L. Dolan, initiated this policy earlier in the year, extending the ban not just to lawyers representing litigants against the company but to all attorneys affiliated with those law firms. MSG Entertainment has cited the adversarial nature of litigation as the reason for this action. To enforce this policy, they've turned to facial recognition technology, which is legal in New York. The technology scans profile photos on law firm websites, using an algorithm to identify and match hundreds of lawyers instantaneously.[4]
This move has led to legal action against MSG Entertainment, with lawyers arguing that the exclusion list is unlawful. Furthermore, the use of facial recognition technology has sparked controversy, not only among individuals who have been denied entry to events but also among civil liberties advocates. They view it as a concerning development in the growing debate over the need for federal regulation of facial recognition technology, given its implications for privacy and potential misuse in a privatised police state.[5]
UK
On 27 January 2026, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced that she is making live facial recognition available to all police forces in England and Wales. She said "The Metropolitan Police have been using it for some time now, they've made 1,700 arrests off the back of using live facial recognition."[6]
Digital Barriers got a contract for this new national facial recognition roll out.
For this project it partners with Israeli firm Corsight AI which is headed by ex-Israeli Unit 8200 agent Igal Raichelgauz.
Corsight AI was used by the Israeli military in the Gaza genocide.[7]
Technology
Facial recognition is done mostly through methods that work with regular camera feeds, but other technologies are also possible.
Resistance
Facial recognition is reported to be vulnerable to masking with makeup[10], masks, or specially designed clothing.[11]
References
- ↑ https://nypost.com/2019/08/01/dutch-burqa-ban-takes-effect-but-police-unlikely-to-enforce-it/
- ↑ https://boingboing.net/2019/04/23/in-this-twitter-exchange-jetb.html
- ↑ https://lb.linkedin.com/posts/kashmirhill_madison-square-garden-uses-facial-recognition-activity-7012035741127954432-vWpx
- ↑ https://nypost.com/2023/04/01/msg-james-dolan-sued-for-use-of-facial-recognition-tech/
- ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/22/nyregion/madison-square-garden-facial-recognition.html
- ↑ "Mahmood defends rollout of facial recognition to all police forces"
- ↑ "Digital Barriers got a contract for this new national facial recognition roll out"
- ↑ https://www.rt.com/news/311003-new-technology-face-recognition/
- ↑ https://dl.acm.org/doi/fullHtml/10.1145/3647750.3647771
- ↑ https://consequenceofsound.net/2019/07/juggalo-makeup-facial-recognition/
- ↑ https://www.cnet.com/news/anti-surveillance-clothes-foil-cameras-by-making-you-look-like-a-car/
