Musicians and fans call for ban on facial recognition at festivals and shows

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 10, 2019
Contact: Evan Greer, press@fightforthefuture.org, 978-852-6457

Tom Morello, Amanda Palmer, Nahko and Medicine for the People, Thievery Corporation, Atmosphere, Gramatik, The Glitch Mob, Downtown Boys among artists opposing invasive surveillance at music events

Digital rights group Fight for the Future has launched a new campaign mobilizing artists, music fans, and event organizers to oppose the use of facial recognition surveillance at music festivals, concerts, and events.

See the campaign page here: https://www.banfacialrecognition.com/festivals

Headlining artists like Tom Morello, Amanda Palmer, Nahko and Medicine for the People, Thievery Corporation, Gramatik, Anti-Flag, Atmosphere, The Glitch Mob, Downtown Boys, Laura Stevenson, Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem, and B Dolan have already supported the campaign on social media, and Washington’s Summer Meltdown Festival just became the first to commit to not using the technology. Ticketmaster and other live music companies have begun investing in the controversial technology, and even smaller bars and venues have been experimenting with it.

“I don’t want Big Brother at my shows targeting fans for harassment, deportation, or arrest. That’s why I’m joining this campaign calling on @Ticketmaster and others not to use #facialrecognition at festivals and concerts,” Tom Morello, legendary guitarist of Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, and Prophets of Rage, tweeted in support of the campaign.

“Facial recognition surveillance is uniquely dangerous. It doesn’t keep fans or artists safe, it just subjects them to invasive, racially biased monitoring that will inevitably lead to fans getting harassed, falsely arrested, deported, or worse,“ said Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future (pronouns: she/her), "We’re calling on all all artists to stick up for their fans’ basic rights and safety by speaking out against the use of Big Brother style biometric surveillance at live music events.”

The campaign is part of Fight for the Future’s broader BanFacialRecognition.com campaign, which has been endorsed my more than 30 major grassroots civil rights organizations including Greenpeace, Color of Change, Daily Kos, United We Dream, Council on American Islamic Relations, MoveOn, and Free Press. The groups are calling for local, state, and federal lawmakers to ban law enforcement use of facial recognition.

###