Concert promoters turn away from facial recognition tech
BOSTON
(AP) — Concert promoters in the U.S. are stepping back from plans to
scan festivalgoers with facial recognition technology, after musicians
and others gave it some serious side-eye.
Although it remains entirely possible that music venues will eventually take a second look at the controversial technology.
Live-entertainment
giants AEG Presents and Live Nation both recently disavowed any plans
to use facial recognition at music festivals, despite earlier
indications to the contrary. Their public pronouncements have led a
group of musicians to declare victory after a months-long campaign to
halt the technology’s use at live shows.
Advances in computer
vision have enabled businesses to install cameras that can recognize
individuals by their face or other biometric characteristics. Venue
operators have talked about using the technology at gateways to secure
entry for select groups or to offer perks for repeat customers.
Privacy
advocates worry that such uses might also pave the way for greater
intrusions, such as scanning audience members in real time to analyze
their behavior.
Both concert organizations seemed to be edging
toward remembering more faces. In May 2018, for instance, Live Nation
subsidiary Ticketmaster announced it was partnering with and investing
in Texas facial recognition startup Blink Identity, saying in a note to shareholders
that its technology will enable music fans to associate their digital
ticket with their image and “then just walk into the show.”
AEG, which operates the Coachella festival in southern California and other major events, updated its online privacy policy
earlier this year with language stating that it may collect facial
images at its events and venues for “access control,” creating aggregate
data or for “personalization” — a term commonly used by retailers
trying to tailor advertising or promotions to a specific customer’s
behavior.
Now, however, both organizations have done an
about-face. AEG’s chief operating officer for festivals, Melissa Ormond,
emailed activists earlier this month to say: “AEG festivals do not use
facial recognition technology and do not have plans to implement.” AEG
confirmed that statement this week but declined further comment.
Live
Nation said in a statement that “we do not currently have plans to
deploy facial recognition technology at our clients’ venues.” The
company insisted that any future use would be “strictly opt-in,” so that
non-consenting fans won’t have to worry about potentially facing the
music.
Facial recognition isn’t seen in many musical venues. The
biggest location known to employ it is New York City’s Madison Square
Garden, which confirmed this week that facial recognition is one of the
security measures it uses “to ensure the safety of everyone” in the
arena. It declined to say what it looks at and why. The New York Times first reported its use last year.
While
the music industry paused, Major League Baseball stole a base by
rolling out biometric ticketing in the U.S., usually involving
fingerprints or iris scans to get into ballparks. Authorities in some
parts of Europe have bounced around the idea of using either facial or voice
recognition to keep tabs on unruly soccer fans, such as those
participating in racist chants. Police agencies in China have used facial recognition at concerts featuring pop singer Jacky Cheung to identify and arrest people wanted as criminal suspects.
American
music event promoters this fall have been pressured to disclose their
facial recognition plans by digital rights group Fight for the Future,
which asked dozens of festival organizers to pledge not to use a
technology it describes as invasive and racially biased.
For some,
it was an easy answer. Organizers of the Summer Meltdown Festival
outside Seattle said they are “happily free of facial recognition
technology.” The hosts of other events, including South by Southwest in
Texas and Governors Ball in New York, confirmed they don’t use it.
Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello co-authored an opinion column
in BuzzFeed last week that described the pledge as the “first major
blow to the spread of commercial facial recognition in the United
States.”
The CEO of Blink Identity says opposition to its Ticketmaster partnership is misguided.
“They’re
talking about mass surveillance,” said Mary Haskett, who co-founded the
Austin, Texas startup. “We’re against mass surveillance…. Nobody’s
talking about doing what they’re protesting against.”
Haskett said
Blink’s system allows concertgoers to opt in by taking selfies with
their phones, which the company transforms into mathematical
representations and deletes. The system might offer access to a shorter
line or a VIP section.
But protesting musicians fear their fans’
mugshots could still end up in the hands of law enforcement or
immigration authorities.
“Of course it’s going to be used by
security,” said Joey La Neve DeFrancesco, a guitarist for Rhode Island
punk band Downtown Boys, which played Coachella in 2017. “Of course it’s
going to be used by law enforcement.”
Punk rockers aren’t the only ones fixing the technology with a death stare. A June survey
by the Pew Research Center found that while people are generally
accepting of facial recognition used by police, only 36% said they trust
tech companies to deploy it responsibly. Just 18% trust advertisers.