S.T.O.P. Warns Facial Recognition Hack Shows Danger Of Tech For Age Verification

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For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Warns Facial Recognition Hack Shows Danger Of Tech For Age Verification (New York, NY 5/3/24) – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy and civil rights group, warns that the massive hack of Outabox—a leading facial recognition firm used for age verification at bars, clubs and casinos—shows the danger of the technology. Hackers claiming to be former employees published “Have I Been Outaboxed,” a website allowing visitors to search their name to see if they are included in Outabox’s database. Based in the U.S., Australia, and the Philippines, Outabox collects biometric, driver’s license, birthday, signature, and other sensitive data to verify patrons’ ages. SEE: WIRED - The Breach of a Face Recognition Firm Reveals a Hidden Danger of Biometrics https://www.wired.com/story/outabox-facial-recognition-breach/ “We’ve warned that this day would be coming, and it’s time to face up to just how insecure facial recognition is,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “It’s bad enough to see facial recognition used by police and landlords, but it’s absurd to see lawmakers promoting the use of facial recognition for age verification. We already know how to card kids for a six pack, we don’t need to put the public’s biometric data at risk this way to do it.” Yesterday, S.T.O.P. joined 20 civil rights groups in launching a public advocacy campaign to “Ban The Scan” in New York State, with legislation banning facial recognition and other biometric technologies in public accommodations. The civil rights group previously condemned New York State legislation that would allow bars and restaurants to “card” patrons with facial recognition when buying alcohol and nicotine products.  At the time, Cahn warned “If one bar or restaurant gets hacked, our identities are compromised for the rest of our lives…more biometric data potentially expands the power of government agencies to track us because this data is just going to be one court order away from being turned into a policing tool.” SEE: Press Release - 21 Civil Rights Groups Launch NYS Campaign To Ban Facial Recognition https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2024/5/2/21-civil-rights-groups-launch-nys-campaign-to-ban-facial-recognition New York Post - NY eyes facial recognition to ‘card’ for alcohol, cigarettes, e-cigs https://nypost.com/2022/04/22/ny-eyes-facial-recognition-to-card-for-alcohol-cigarettes/ The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color. --END-- CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. Copyright © 2021 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved.