The State of Anti-Surveillance Design
404 Media••technology
Key Points:
- Law enforcement agencies use facial recognition technology, similar to that unlocking smartphones, to identify individuals during traffic stops and immigration raids by accessing billions of images scraped from the web.
- Technologists like Adam Harvey have developed anti-surveillance designs, such as CV Dazzle face paint and heat-obscuring clothing, but many wearable solutions quickly become ineffective as facial recognition algorithms evolve.
- Simple everyday items like cloth masks, large sunglasses, hats, and face coverings remain effective at reducing the accuracy of facial recognition systems by obscuring key facial features.
- Infrared-blocking glasses, such as those made by Reflectacles, offer advanced protection against biometric scans, and the anti-surveillance fashion market is becoming more mainstream and commercialized.
- Advocates emphasize that
