John,
As venues and businesses begin to reopen, we should absolutely follow all guidance from public health officials and take all steps to keep people safe. But event producers shouldn't fall for nonsense from greedy surveillance vendors pushing invasive, biased technology that doesn't even work. There is no reason for these venues and events to use surveillance like facial recognition to gobble up fans’ private data in the name of COVID safety.
Tell event promoters and ticket companies to put privacy first and to commit to not using facial recognition!
SIGN NOW
Two summers ago, we learned that LiveNation (the company that owns the vast majority of event ticketing in the United States) was funding research about using facial recognition as a ticketing method. In response, we organized civil liberties advocates, musicians, and live music fans to pressure some of the biggest festivals in the country to commit to not using the technology1. And within a few weeks, LiveNation released a press release stating that they were no longer researching facial recognition2.
This was a huge win, but now, in response to COVID, facial recognition vendors are heavily marketing their products as “safer, hands free alternatives” to traditional ticketing.
There is nothing safe about facial recognition. It’s racist, ableist, and a threat to human rights. Invasive surveillance does not make anyone safer, and it will always endanger marginalized people. No one should have to hand over their biometric data to attend an event. We know that there is a lot to figure out about how to safely come together for large gatherings like live events, but we are certain that facial recognition has no place in these conversations.
Tell event producers to reject using facial recognition.
For the future of live events,
Erica & the Team at ❤️Fight
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1. Fight for the Future:
https://www.banfacialrecognition.com/festivals/
2. Buzzfeed News: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/evangreer/stop-facial-recognition-music-festivals-concerts
Fight for the Future works to protect your rights in the digital age.
