The National Football League (NFL) will deploy facial recognition technology in all 32 stadiums in a major effort to improve security at events and streamline the entry process for credential holders. The decision comes after a successful pilot program and the signing of a league-wide contract with Wicket, a company that specializes in facial recognition software.
According to Wicket's LinkedIn post:
As we prepare for football season, we are pleased to join the NFL's league-wide authentication initiative to shore up vulnerable areas in high-security zones such as playing fields, locker rooms and press boxes. Thousands of staff, vendors and media personnel will use a new facial recognition system that combines the Wicket facial recognition platform with Accredit Solutions authentication software.
According to a Sports Business Journal article referenced by the company, these vulnerabilities include the current methods by which people prove they are authorized to enter certain parts of the system, including the unauthorized transfer of credentials, the use of counterfeit credentials and poor human enforcement of restrictions separating certain parts of a venue from others.
The technology is scheduled to debut in stadiums across the country on August 8, in time for the NFL preseason kickoff when the Patriots face off against the Giants.
How to use
Wicket's system works by asking credential holders to submit a selfie before arriving at the venue, and once there, the facial scan is cross-referenced with their credentials through Accredit, a credentialing platform integrated into Wicket.
“Credential holders simply take a selfie before arriving, then Wicket will verify their identity as they go through security checkpoints and verify their credentials with Acredit,” Wicket chief operating officer Jeff Bohm explained in a since-deleted LinkedIn post cited by The Record.
Apparently, the system also works for ineligible fans. In another post, Bohm expressed enthusiasm about the fan experience that Wicket's technology provides, saying, “I love seeing the reactions of fans who use Wicket.” He recalled attending a recent New York Mets game, saying, “Many fans were thrilled to be able to use the facial recognition ticket to get into the game faster. They walk up to the iPad, it instantly recognizes them, pops up their name on the screen, shows them how many tickets they have, and they're right there.”
Praised convenience
Brandon Covert, vice president of IT for the Cleveland Browns, also praised the system's convenience for fans, saying, “When you come up to look at the tablet, it immediately recognizes you. The downtime is about half a second. It's more of a pause than a downtime. It's significantly reduced the time and hassle of getting into the stadium.”
The Browns have also deployed Wickett technology to verify the age of fans purchasing alcohol, further integrating software into the stadium experience.
Apparently, the team started using the system when fans were required to wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, and despite the challenges posed by those restrictions, the system showed near-perfect accuracy in recognizing people's faces.
Simply put, “your face is your ticket,” the company's website states.
The introduction of facial recognition technology at sports venues is said to be aimed at increasing security and improving efficiency, but it has raised concerns among privacy advocates.
According to The Record, critics argue that such technology could be used to track individuals' movements and poses the risk of racial and gender bias because facial recognition algorithms are known to be less accurate at identifying people of color, women, and “non-binary” individuals who identify as neither male nor female.
But Wicket's technology works with 99.7 percent accuracy, even in difficult lighting conditions, and boasts “zero false positives.” The company guarantees that its facial recognition algorithms can authenticate an individual's face in less than a second, positioning its service as a solution to reduce crowding and speed up entry procedures.
Privacy issues
While the system is highly accurate and useful, it has also been criticized for potentially leading to public surveillance in the broader context of ever-growing intrusions into people's privacy by corporations and governments.
“Facial recognition is expanding. It's a key component of the technocratic state. (Of course) it will come through football, because entertainment is one of the easiest ways to sell surveillance,” writes journalist Derrick Broz.
Quoting from his book, “How to Break Free from the Technocratic State,” he said, “From doorbell cameras to home assistants to always-watching television, the masses are voluntarily giving up their privacy in the name of entertainment and convenience.”
Republican Rep. David J. Place of Rhode Island said the news “should strike fear into the hearts of all who support the First Amendment.”
As evidenced by a video purportedly posted by the Dallas Cowboys, the accuracy of facial recognition technology being used to identify fans in sports stadiums is astonishing, leading observers to compare it to China's pervasive social surveillance system and the dystopian world depicted in George Orwell's “1984.”
“The sportsball panopticon. Enjoy your Bud Light. It's safe and effective,” said Joe Allen, transhumanist editor and author at The War Room.
Broad trends in the world of sports
The NFL isn't the only organization using facial recognition technology: soccer stadiums around the world have begun installing similar systems to monitor fans and provide added security.
As of May 2024, 25 of the world's top 100 soccer stadiums have integrated facial recognition technology into their video surveillance systems, “with more tests being carried out each year,” according to an article by London-based nonprofit Privacy International. The technology is used not only for ticket sales and contactless concessions, but also to monitor spectator behavior, the privacy watchdog group reported.
Additionally, for the first time in Olympic history, Paris has deployed facial recognition technology as a core part of its security strategy for the Games 2024. This cutting-edge, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered system will not only be used to verify the identities of athletes, staff and accredited officials in real time, but also to monitor the public outside competition venues, reports Security Informed and France 24.
