Protestors are using various techniques to throw off facial recognition cameras, including lasers that the cameras can’t process or recognize, full-coverage gas masks and eyewear. They have put up umbrellas around cameras to block them and even torn down facial recognition towers.
Facial recognition is a polarizing topic, and it is sometimes seen as a problematic development in surveillance capitalism. People generally don’t give permission or even know they’re being tracked. They also don’t know how their faces are being used.
For example, when you walk into most retail stores, there is a security cameral there to ward off theft. However, that camera could be doing much more than warding off theft. It could use your face for other databases so the store can market to you and build a behavior profile that links your in-store activity with your online activity.
Think about how Amazon built its facial recognition technology (FRT), Rekognition. It curated photos of your online profiles and your shopping experiences, as well as images from its Ring doorbell security application, and put together a profile of you. OK, so security may be worth giving up… Forbes