A NY School District Defies State, Plans To Proceed With Facial Recognition Test

I&#x27;m so glad I grew up during a time when you didn&#x27;t have to worry about every single second of your life potentially being captured on video and used for some nefarious purpose.<p>I can&#x27;t imagine being a kid in this type of environment. Then again, many of the kids who will be unwillingly subjected to this probably aren&#x27;t informed enough to understand the potential long-term consequences of pervasive surveillance, which makes it all the more evil.<p>It&#x27;s appalling that they spent $1.4 million (so far) on this rather than putting the money towards more useful things like teacher salaries or after-school programs. Maybe if they improved the overall school experience they wouldn&#x27;t need to monitor the kids like prisoners?

The stated aims of the system are easily covertly expanded (and there is <i>ample</i> history to indicate that will happen) to turn the school into a panopticon, building a social graph and personality profile of kids as they grow up.<p>To me this looks like an openly hostile act.

I look forward to hordes of teenagers pushing back against this - wearing hats, burkas, sunglasses, excessive makeup etc. etc.<p>At least, I sure hope they will.

Because children and adolescents aren&#x27;t people, they often have surveillance and control technologies tested on them. And when the surveillance and control technologies significantly increase school violence (can you name a school shooting at a school that didn&#x27;t have cameras?), they conclude that more technology is needed to surveil and control. I imagine it&#x27;s a booming business.

I am reminded of the absurd threat in the film &quot;Rock and Roll High School&quot; that &quot;This will go on your <i>permanent record</i>&quot;<p>Nowadays it will.

A bit incomplete title then. They are also testing legal boundaries, population reaction, and few other things that are morally objectionable.

Lockport is an old factory town on the Erie Canal, not far from Buffalo and Niagara Falls. The population is about 20,000 people. North of the city is orchards and farmland, south are the outer suburbs of Buffalo. It&#x27;s not a place known for high tech, nor is it known for high municipal spending.<p>The backstory of how this came about would surely be interesting.

Parents.<p>The time has come to teach your chilluns the virtues of laser pointers, spray paint, and civil disobedience.<p>It won&#x27;t take long, I guarantee you.

Slightly confusing how although the article&#x27;s opening paragraph currently says &quot;...an explicit order&quot; from the state education department, it goes on to quote it later where it can be seen to be just a recommendation.

Fun Fact: Chris Sacca is from Lockport and graduated from Lockport High School. Timothy McVeigh is also from there.

Did the parents approve the use of the photos by a 3rd party? Were the parents advised of the policies around data retention and data destruction? Will this data remain in the system after the children are adults?

No problems from me. NY schools already have a security guard on duty that watches everyone coming and going through the front door. Its not always easy job, anything that can help them would be great.

Why don&#x27;t schools concentrate on education?

Yet another reason to avoid public schools, if you can.

Good gravy. I&#x27;d go into hiding if there was anywhere left to go. Wish I was religious so I could try to join a monestary.