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The Age of the Anonymous Protest Is Over
Crowds may provide a sense of shared purpose, strength in numbers, and a physical embodiment of the spirit of collective action. But in the age of digital surveillance, they do not provide anonymity.
Many protesters likely assume that unless they’re arrested, they can exercise their right to protest while keeping their identities private. And they’re wrong.
With the rise of A.I.-driven facial recognition databases from companies like Clearview AI, government agencies across the nation have tools available to rapidly and easily identify anyone participating in a protest using only their photo.
If you’ve attended a protest this weekend — or really any public event over the last several years — you could potentially be identified by name using only an image of your face.
In the age of ubiquitous cellphone cameras and instant publishing via social media, protests are immediately documented and shared worldwide. Before protesters even left the streets on Saturday night, photos had already circulated worldwide and made their way into major news sources. These images now risk compromising the privacy and civil liberties of protesters. Since at least 2018, companies including…
