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Taylor Swift Used Facial Recognition Tech At Concerts To Spy On Stalkers (boingboing.net)

Posted by BeauHD on from the extra-set-of-eyes dept.

AmiMoJo shares a report: Taylor Swift used facial recognition technology at her live performances so that technicians running the system could then check those face scans against a private database of her stalkers. There is now big demand for serious security at live events the size of a Taylor Swift concert. There have been so many bombings and mass shootings at music concerts over the past year to even remember without Googling. Fear of being killed at a music concert is something people factor in to the decision to buy tickets and go to live events. The demand for security is real.

6 of 147 comments (clear)

  1. Not spying if there's consent by mveloso · · Score: 4, Informative

    To get into a concert you have to agree to their ToS, which explicitly allows them to record/capture images and likenesses.

    It's not spying if you consent.

  2. Re: No more by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    There have been so many bombings and mass shootings at music concerts over the past year to even remember without Googling

    Uh, what? There's only one I could find record of, unless you're going to include gang members shooting each other at nightclubs but that's not really a music concert. And I couldn't find even a single Bombing.

  3. She really does have criminal level stalkers by Koreantoast · · Score: 4, Informative

    To be fair to Swift, she really does have some crazy stalkers, including people who break into her home and take naps in her living room, harass her family, and legal restraining order type of crazy. Concerts are one of the few openings they have where they can try to get close, so these systems are probably being used for that specific slice of risk. Yes, they can check at the door, but given that many have resorted to criminal actions to try and get close, it wouldn't be surprising if some tried to sneak in through other means. It is after all a private event, private venue, with video consent already given.

    That said, it's still creepy, and given how the Chinese have used the system to sweep up enemies of the state, I'm not sure I feel comfortable with this.

  4. Re: No more by stealth_finger · · Score: 1, Informative

    And I couldn't find even a single Bombing.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    This wasn't very long ago and was big news. Might not rise up enough in american news though over the deluge of daily violence and shootings.

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  5. Re:The demand is real by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 3, Informative

    While I agree that even one shooting is too many... I look at this and feel like the wording makes it sound like a bombing or shooting at a concert takes place very 2-3 days. I doubt very many people think that if they go to a concert that they are likely be part of a mass murder.

    Hmm, 2018 mass shootings at concerts....

    Nope, there weren't any. Closest was a series of shootings at Mardi Gras. Three dead, in unrelated instances, only a "mass shooting" if you define Mardi Gras as a single event (as opposed to a 24+hour party covering the whole city)....

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  6. Re:Security theater by sjbe · · Score: 1, Informative

    There's a reason people put "/sarc" at the end. Sarcasm, like facetiousness, doesn't translate well to print. Your upper post read like a statement of belief.

    Welcome to the internet. Sometimes you just don't get the joke. Happens to all of us sometimes. You are not the first person with that revelation.