A protester at a New York anti-Israel rally was identified through facial recognition technology, raising alarms about privacy and the outsourcing of surveillance. The software used was also deployed to track pro-Palestinian demonstrators at U.S. colleges, with fears that government officials may be involved. Activist organizations are increasingly concerned, especially as foreign students face potential deportation for their participation in protests. The entire situation highlights a troubling intersection of technology, activism, and state oversight, with individuals like Abed Ayoub expressing serious alarm over the implications for civil liberties.
The push to identify masked protesters using facial recognition and turn them in is blurring the line between public law enforcement and private groups.
Months of them hiding their faces went down the drain! A fledgling technology company boasted in a social media post about its facial-recognition tool.
'It's a very concerning practice. We don't know who these individuals are or what they're doing with this information,' said Abed Ayoub.
Concern about the pursuit of activists has risen since the March 8 arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student of Palestinian descent.
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