Earlier this summer The Washington Post reported that the New Orleans police were secretly using facial recognition on a private camera network of over 200 live feeds. This went on for two years despite city ordinances requiring the technology only be used to search for specific suspects of violent crimes, and that the use be documented and reported to the city council.

Facial recognition technology remains controversial, though a plurality of Americans support its use in both law enforcement and the workplace, with limitations.

I really wish people would stop blending facial recognition tech with live facial recognition tech. I know it’s unintentional, but this is also a talking point people use to spread disinformation about what the government is actually doing with live facial recognition tech.

Most people just assume that you’re arguing the tech never be used for anything, or thag it not be used to solve crimes in any way, rather than arguing you don’t want a dystopian network of cameras constantly tracking your location in real time and storing your data.