SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Facial Recognition-Fest: UK Police Scan 100,000 Concertgoers
Leicestireshire police planted series of 'strategically placed cameras' at outdoor concert under guise of crime prevention
Jun 16, 2015
Just in time for facial recognition technology to lose its few privacy allies in the U.S., police in the U.K. demonstrated just what that kind of mass surveillance of the public might look like in reality.
Over the weekend, Leicestireshire police planted a series of "strategically placed cameras" throughout the grounds of an outdoor concert--ironically called the Download Festival--to scan the faces of more than 100,000 people and match them against a database of wanted criminals across Europe.
It was believed to be the first time that facial recognition technology had been used in an outdoor venue in the country.
We Interrupt This Article with an Urgent Message! Common Dreams is a not-for-profit news service. All of our content is free to you - no subscriptions; no ads. We are funded by donations from our readers. This media model only works if enough readers pitch in. We have millions of readers every month and, it seems, too many take our survival for granted. It isn't. Our critical Mid-Year fundraiser is going very slow - only 598 readers have contributed a total of $23,000 so far. We must raise $27,000 more before we can end this fundraising campaign and get back to focusing on what we do best.
|
The law enforcement news website Police Oracle informed concertgoers that the cameras would be used during the festival in a post ahead of the weekend, although it's unclear how widely that message was spread--content on the Police Oracle website can only be read after registration.
Renate Samson, a campaigner with UK-based privacy rights organization Big Brother Watch, told the BBC that the scheme was "a great worry."
Referring to the police justification that the scans would help catch cell phone thieves and other petty crime at the festival, Samson added, "We're very keen for bad people to be caught but we're also keen for innocent people to go about their day-to-day business, have a good time at festivals they've paid good money for, and not feel as though they're being surveyed by police."
Samson also told Noisey that "Leicestershire has a reputation for surveillance. Between 2009 and 2011 they had some of the highest amounts of CCTV in the UK."
In fact, Noisey reports, the Download Festival may be just the start of public video surveillance by law enforcement:
According to the Police Oracle article previously cited, other festival organisers have expressed widespread interest in technology, pending a successful trial. DC [Detective Constable] Kevin Walker told the Oracle, "It is one of the first times it has been trialled outside, normally it is done in a controlled environment. There has also been a lot of interest from other festivals and they are saying: 'If it works, can we borrow it?' "
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Just in time for facial recognition technology to lose its few privacy allies in the U.S., police in the U.K. demonstrated just what that kind of mass surveillance of the public might look like in reality.
Over the weekend, Leicestireshire police planted a series of "strategically placed cameras" throughout the grounds of an outdoor concert--ironically called the Download Festival--to scan the faces of more than 100,000 people and match them against a database of wanted criminals across Europe.
It was believed to be the first time that facial recognition technology had been used in an outdoor venue in the country.
We Interrupt This Article with an Urgent Message! Common Dreams is a not-for-profit news service. All of our content is free to you - no subscriptions; no ads. We are funded by donations from our readers. This media model only works if enough readers pitch in. We have millions of readers every month and, it seems, too many take our survival for granted. It isn't. Our critical Mid-Year fundraiser is going very slow - only 598 readers have contributed a total of $23,000 so far. We must raise $27,000 more before we can end this fundraising campaign and get back to focusing on what we do best.
|
The law enforcement news website Police Oracle informed concertgoers that the cameras would be used during the festival in a post ahead of the weekend, although it's unclear how widely that message was spread--content on the Police Oracle website can only be read after registration.
Renate Samson, a campaigner with UK-based privacy rights organization Big Brother Watch, told the BBC that the scheme was "a great worry."
Referring to the police justification that the scans would help catch cell phone thieves and other petty crime at the festival, Samson added, "We're very keen for bad people to be caught but we're also keen for innocent people to go about their day-to-day business, have a good time at festivals they've paid good money for, and not feel as though they're being surveyed by police."
Samson also told Noisey that "Leicestershire has a reputation for surveillance. Between 2009 and 2011 they had some of the highest amounts of CCTV in the UK."
In fact, Noisey reports, the Download Festival may be just the start of public video surveillance by law enforcement:
According to the Police Oracle article previously cited, other festival organisers have expressed widespread interest in technology, pending a successful trial. DC [Detective Constable] Kevin Walker told the Oracle, "It is one of the first times it has been trialled outside, normally it is done in a controlled environment. There has also been a lot of interest from other festivals and they are saying: 'If it works, can we borrow it?' "
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Just in time for facial recognition technology to lose its few privacy allies in the U.S., police in the U.K. demonstrated just what that kind of mass surveillance of the public might look like in reality.
Over the weekend, Leicestireshire police planted a series of "strategically placed cameras" throughout the grounds of an outdoor concert--ironically called the Download Festival--to scan the faces of more than 100,000 people and match them against a database of wanted criminals across Europe.
It was believed to be the first time that facial recognition technology had been used in an outdoor venue in the country.
We Interrupt This Article with an Urgent Message! Common Dreams is a not-for-profit news service. All of our content is free to you - no subscriptions; no ads. We are funded by donations from our readers. This media model only works if enough readers pitch in. We have millions of readers every month and, it seems, too many take our survival for granted. It isn't. Our critical Mid-Year fundraiser is going very slow - only 598 readers have contributed a total of $23,000 so far. We must raise $27,000 more before we can end this fundraising campaign and get back to focusing on what we do best.
|
The law enforcement news website Police Oracle informed concertgoers that the cameras would be used during the festival in a post ahead of the weekend, although it's unclear how widely that message was spread--content on the Police Oracle website can only be read after registration.
Renate Samson, a campaigner with UK-based privacy rights organization Big Brother Watch, told the BBC that the scheme was "a great worry."
Referring to the police justification that the scans would help catch cell phone thieves and other petty crime at the festival, Samson added, "We're very keen for bad people to be caught but we're also keen for innocent people to go about their day-to-day business, have a good time at festivals they've paid good money for, and not feel as though they're being surveyed by police."
Samson also told Noisey that "Leicestershire has a reputation for surveillance. Between 2009 and 2011 they had some of the highest amounts of CCTV in the UK."
In fact, Noisey reports, the Download Festival may be just the start of public video surveillance by law enforcement:
According to the Police Oracle article previously cited, other festival organisers have expressed widespread interest in technology, pending a successful trial. DC [Detective Constable] Kevin Walker told the Oracle, "It is one of the first times it has been trialled outside, normally it is done in a controlled environment. There has also been a lot of interest from other festivals and they are saying: 'If it works, can we borrow it?' "
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy