Taylor Swift Nashville Bluebird Cafe

Eve Rinaldi/Flickr (CC-BY-SA)

Taylor Swift uses facial recognition to ID stalkers at concert

Look what you made her do.

 

Nahila Bonfiglio

Tech

Posted on Dec 13, 2018   Updated on May 20, 2021, 11:33 pm CDT

Taylor Swift has found a unique way to attempt to track down her stalkers. During her May 18 performance at California’s Rose Bowl, a small kiosk—complete with facial recognition software—was set up and monitored from nearly 2,000 miles away.

The kiosk displayed highlights from Swift’s rehearsals, essentially guaranteeing that nearly every concertgoer stopped by at least once to gawk. When attendees stopped by the kiosk to take a peek, the camera inside snapped a few photos to be examined by a team set up all the way in Nashville. Photos were cross-referenced with those of hundreds of Swift’s known stalkers, Mike Downing, the chief security officer for concert security advisers Oak View Group, told Rolling Stone.

“Everybody who went by would stop and stare at it, and the software would start working,” Downing saidDue to arenas’ typical status as private venues, the use of this software is perfectly legal. Its legality does not erase security concerns, however, as concertgoers cannot know how the footage of them will be used, or where—and if—it is kept.

They are also currently unaware of whether the technology assisted in locating any of Swift’s known stalkers. These details could help ease the minds of attendees who just went to see Swift in all her live glory, and ended up on display without their knowledge.

H/T Quartz

Share this article
*First Published: Dec 13, 2018, 7:54 am CST