This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply. Steve Knopper, writing at Rolling Stone: Taylor Swift fans mesmerized by rehearsal clips on a kiosk at her May 18th Rose Bowl show were unaware of one crucial detail: A facial-recognition camera inside the display was taking their photos. The images were being transferred to a Nashville “command post,” where they were cross-referenced with a database of hundreds of the pop star’s known stalkers, according to Mike Downing, chief security officer of Oak View Group, an advisory board for concert venues including Madison Square Garden and the Forum in L.A. “Everybody who went by would stop and stare at it, and the software would start working,” says Downing, who attended the concert to witness a demo of the system as a guest of the company that manufactures the kiosks. Expand - View Original
She has this many known stalkers? That's creepy. Wouldn't it be more cost effective to just monitor her known stalkers instead of investing in this technology to stop maybe 6-7 people?
Hundreds? How awful. I would never leave my house. My large, gated house surrounded by many vicious dogs.
Even under the guise of stalkers (and I believe that's what they're using it for) this is problematic. But like RS says, it's here to stay.
Crazy, recent, story about one of her stalkers ...also halfway through the tour they turned her piano so she was looking straight out at the crowd. There was a lot of speculation that this was done because of the fear that someone could easily sneak up behind her while on stage (I believe this was just after the dude got on stage at Bey and Jay's show)
[Not a lawyer] I believe there may be privacy laws that protect those individuals. Since a Taylor Swift concert is a private event, they're able to do this legally. Also, it's only at one spot… it's not like they have cameras all over the venue monitoring.
Looked up that video, craziness. What must've been running through that person's head to make them think that was a good idea…
I was actually at that show... it was such a weird experience. But apparently the dude was wasted... B+J didn't press any charges
Based on the surprise here, I think people might be underestimating how often this technology is in use - but just isn't publicized like this.