John,

Imagine you're watching your favorite artist perform and suddenly security grabs you out of the crowd, because a computer algorithm decided you look like a "threat." That is a future technologists fear with dangerous, invasive facial recognition technology—and it could be coming to a concert near you.

In the last few days, events like Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo, and Electric Forest have committed not to use creepy biometric ticketing or surveillance. It’s working! Still, many events have failed to respond, and some, like Coachella, even said that they refuse to answer. We can’t let this go.

Sign the petition and then contact the festivals: tell them to say NO to facial recognition.

TAKE ACTION

While it isn’t big in the states yet, this tech is already being used by Madison Square Garden, and ticketing behemoth Ticketmaster invested in a partnership with the same company that did facial recognition for the U.S. military in Afghanistan. In China, where facial recognition is already widespread, authorities are tracking and arresting people out of concert crowds.

Events companies say that facial recognition will make events safer and make the lines move more quickly—but this is really an effort to harvest our sensitive data and make more money on the backs of music lovers, while exposing people to potential harassment, discrimination, false arrest, or even deportation.

With your help, we can get even more commitments from big festivals, and show everyone that facial recognition is a terrible idea. Take action today.

Thanks for all you do,

Lia at Fight for the Future

P.S. We just launched a new scorecard showing which major music festivals might be experimenting on fans with facial recognition technology, and which ones have committed to not using it. Check it out here.

Fight for the Future works to protect your rights in the digital age.