Rage Against the Machine founders Tom Morello and Zack de la Rocha are among the artists boycotting US music venues that use face-scanning technology.
A digital rights advocacy group named Fight for the Future has organised the boycott, calling for a ban on face-scanning technology at all live events in the country.
In a press statement, Fight for the Future campaigner Leila Nashashibi said: “Surveillance tech companies are pitching biometric data tools as ‘innovative’ and helpful for increasing efficiency and security. Not only is this false, it’s morally corrupt.
“For starters, this technology is so inaccurate that it actually creates more harm and problems than it solves, through misidentification and other technical faultiness.
She added: “Even scarier, though, is a world in which all facial recognition technology works 100 per cent perfectly – in other words, a world in which privacy is nonexistent, where we’re identified, watched, and surveilled everywhere we go.”
This campaign was first launched in 2022 after Madison Square Garden started using facial recognition technology.
According to reports, the venue started using this technology to identify lawyers present at any of its New York venues who were working for firms in the process of suing them.
At the time, Madison Square Garden confirmed the tactic, saying: “MSG instituted a straightforward policy that precludes attorneys from firms pursuing active litigation against the Company from attending events at our venues until that litigation has been resolved.
“While we understand this policy is disappointing to some, we cannot ignore the fact that litigation creates an inherently adversarial environment.”
Over the weekend, Fight for the Future revealed that Morello and De la Rocha are among a pool of over 100 artists who have pledged to boycott venues that use facial recognition at shows.
According to Rolling Stone, other high-profile artists who have pledged to the cause include Wheatus, Boots Riley and Anti-Flag.
