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EFF Suggests Halloween Costume To Protest Facial Recognition Databases (eff.org)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the treats-or-tricks dept.

An anonymous reader writes: EFF's list of costume ideas for digital rights activists include a Stingray costume, dressing up like a Privacy Badger (or a patent troll), and using facepaint to simulate the eerie digitization algorithms that are currently capturing images of your face for government databases. "Just this week we learned that facial recognition is far more prevalent among local and federal law enforcement than we thought, with at least 26 states using this biometric technology... To draw attention to this emerging threat to privacy, you can use your face painting skills to recreate the digitization algorithms on your own mug based on public records we and others have obtained from law enforcement agencies."
Sixteen states already grant the FBI access to their DMV databases, reports EFF, noting that it's "almost completely unregulated," with one study reporting that 50% of American faces are already in a government database.

10 of 65 comments (clear)

  1. Be the life of the party! by CajunArson · · Score: 3

    Because the real spirit of Halloween is protesting things.

    --
    AntiFA: An abbreviation for Anti First Amendment.
    1. Re: Be the life of the party! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Actually, it is. It's a remnant of the poor drunkenly demanding stuff from the rich during the end of the year harvest festival.

    2. Re:Be the life of the party! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I dunno, reminding people of how far our privacy has been invaded should prove fairly scary.

    3. Re:Be the life of the party! by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 2

      That's why Jesus died for a second time on the cross on Halloween. To give girls the right to wear skimpy "sexy ______" costumes.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    4. Re:Be the life of the party! by Pseudonymous+Powers · · Score: 2

      That's why Jesus died for a second time on the cross on Halloween. To give girls the right to wear skimpy "sexy ______" costumes.

      "Wow, I didn't think the costume designers could actually do it, but I have to admit, that is indeed a really sexy blank."

    5. Re: Be the life of the party! by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 2

      Which was also stolen from pagans.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
  2. Re:Not for the US by No+Longer+an+AC · · Score: 2

    I can't vouch for the accuracy of this site, but it looks like most of us are okay although I have seen signs in convenience stores before telling people that masks were not allowed inside.

    State Codes Related To Wearing Masks

    Some states that do have laws have exemptions, like Minnesota:

    unless based on religious beliefs, or incidental to amusement, entertainment, protection from weather, or medical treatment

  3. These will be great by GameboyRMH · · Score: 2

    If you're going to the Halloween meeting of your local Linux user group...otherwise, not so much.

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  4. Re:Not for the US by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 2

    Jersey Mike's here in the midwest is the only store I've seen with a sign that says no masks allowed.

    I'd be ashamed to walk into a Jersey Mike's without wearing a mask.

    --
    "That's the way to do it" - Punch
  5. Re:Not for the US by Kierthos · · Score: 3, Informative

    Uh, yes there are. I mean, I don't think there are any "no masks whatsoever, under no conditions at all, we mean it" laws, but there are laws that prohibit masks.

    http://law.lis.virginia.gov/va...

    --
    Mr. Hu is not a ninja.