It has been revealed that live facial recognition was used to scan crowds attending Beyoncé's concert for possible pedophiles or terrorists.
Fans who gathered at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, to see the 'Crazy in Love' songstress back in May were warned that advanced technology would be used to scan for criminals.
According to BBC, Alun Michael - South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner - discussed the use of the technology and shared that searching for potential offenders at music events had become standard since the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing during an Ariana Grande concert.
He explained that child predators were also targeted as "there would be very large numbers of young girls attending that concert" and noted that using such cameras was "entirely sensible," per the outlet.
According to the South Wales Police website, a watchlist is created containing people who are wanted by the police and courts - typically, those who "may pose a risk of harm to themselves or others".
Cameras are then used to inspect a specific area, as images are scanned using live facial recognition technology. The pictures are then compared to the watchlist, and should there be a match, an alert is set off.
Concerns surrounding personal data privacy have been raised by human rights campaigners, including a lawyer named Katy Watts who contended that the technology "entrenches patterns of discrimination in policing" and "violates" privacy.
However, Michael stated that he doesn't believe the cameras are an issue, explaining: "There's been a lot of misunderstanding thinking that images are captured and kept - they're not.
"The only image that is retained is of an individual who's identified as being one of the people you're looking for," he added.
The police officer noted that the most important point was that authority was necessary in this case, stating: "When there is a live facial recognition deployment I am informed in advance and told what the watchlist is.
"It's an operational decision which I am, in live time, able to review and check," he concluded.
The Crime Commissioner reiterated that concertgoers in attendance at the 42-year-old Grammy-winning singer's show were notified of the use of live facial recognition.
He said that fans knew in advance of the gig as well as the reasoning, and added that Beyoncé's concert was an example of how the technology operated in practice.
"That was announced in advance and reported to me, it wasn't secretive," Michael said. "It seemed to me entirely sensible."
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