Security News > 2024 > August > NFL to begin using face scanning tech across all of its stadiums

"After a pilot last season, all 32 teams will be using Wicket to streamline and secure the credentialing program," Boehm wrote.

The new NFL credentialing program follows a six-stadium pilot program in 2023.

The Cleveland Browns was one of the teams to participate in the 2023 pilot, using the face scanning software at its stadium and practice facilities, according to the Wicket website.

Three years earlier, it worked with the tech firm on a "Touchless ticketing solution" - essentially face scanning to allow ticket holders entry to its stadium without removing their masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As Adam Schwartz, privacy litigation director at Electronic Frontier Foundation, told The Register: "Face recognition is a dangerous technology that routinely results in false accusations, mass surveillance, and racially disparate impact. Sports stadiums should not be using this technology absent strict safeguards, including: no use of FRT on patrons absent their opt-in consent, with a clear and convenient alternative method of entry and payment; prompt deletion of collected footage; and no sharing footage with law enforcement absent a warrant. Given the even higher dangers of FRT in the hands of government, publicly owned stadiums shouldn't be using this technology at all."

The NFL did not respond to The Register's questions about the face scanning credentialing program or privacy concerns surrounding the technology.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/08/06/nfl_face_scanning_tech/