Recognize that face?
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Taylor Swift appears to be taking an aggressive step in finding her stalkers.
At a May 18 concert at the Rose Bowl, a facial recognition camera was embedded inside a kiosk displaying snippets of the pop star‘s rehearsal, according to a report in Rolling Stone.
The camera reportedly took photos of anyone who stopped to look at the display. The camera then sent the photos to a “command post” in Nashville, Tennessee, where they were matched against images of hundreds of the pop star’s known stalkers, according to the report.
It’s unclear who has the photos of the concertgoers or how long the photos might remain on file. A representative for Swift didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment regarding whether fans were informed of the use of the facial recognition camera.
The report comes as facial recognition technology continues to cause privacy concerns. Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union said the Secret Service planned to deploy facial recognition technology in and around the White House. Staff would participate in the pilot program, but images of people outside the White House would also be captured. The proposed program raised concerns because it was unclear how the Secret Service would determine who was a “subject of interest,” according to the ACLU.
Amazon also came under scrutiny when the ACLU revealed in May that the company was selling its facial recognition software to law enforcement agencies. In July, the ACLU found that Amazon’s technology had mistakenly matched 28 Congressmen with known criminals. In October, the civil rights organization pressed the Department of Homeland Security to disclose its use of facial recognition technology, following reports that Amazon met with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials this summer.
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