MLB adopts China-style biometric facial ID scans at ballparks.
Major League Baseball Embraces Facial Recognition Technology, but at What Cost?
Major League Baseball is diving headfirst into the world of facial recognition technology, offering fans a new way to access ballparks. However, Americans should be cautious about the potential dangers that come with it.
The program is completely voluntary, but it raises valid concerns about privacy and the growing surveillance state, reminiscent of what we see in communist China.
To participate in the program, fans simply need to submit a selfie through the MLB Ballpark app. Once approved, ticket holders can enter the game through a designated gate without the need for a physical ticket or barcode on their phone, as reported by KYW Newsradio.
MLB senior vice president Karri Zaremba explained, “Fans don’t have to take out their phones or even stop. It’s a seamless, full-speed experience.” This pilot program, called “Go-Ahead Entry,” will debut at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia on Monday and is expected to expand to other ballparks next season.
Biometric entry systems are already in use at New York Mets and Cleveland Guardians games, according to BiometricUpdate.com.
However, the storage of individuals’ biometric data raises concerns about potential misuse by governments or businesses to control people’s behavior.
What may start as a convenient system could eventually lead to a loss of personal freedom.
A Glimpse into a Dystopian Future
Imagine a future where grocery stores, gas stations, and other essential retailers have a “go” or “no go” database for customers trying to enter. “Just toe the party line and you can go in,” they say.
This type of surveillance and control is already a reality in Communist China, where facial recognition scanners are deployed in hotels, banks, shopping malls, and gas stations. Movement is tightly controlled through ID checkpoints that include face, iris, and body scanners, as highlighted by Paul Scharre, vice president and director of studies at the Center for a New American Security, in an article for The Los Angeles Times.
Scharre warns, “The problem is not just that AI is being used for human rights abuses but that it can supercharge repression itself, arming the state with vast intelligent surveillance networks to monitor and control the population at a scale and degree of precision that would be impossible with human agents.”
The Slippery Slope of Social Credit Systems
China’s social credit system, which combines government and business surveillance, assigns citizens a score that can restrict their ability to take certain actions based on their behavior. As Kristin Tate, from Young Americans for Liberty, explains in an article for The Hill, a similar system may be on its way to the United States.
Companies that currently track your movements and purchases for rewards programs could potentially use this data to penalize you. Tate questions, “At what point does free speech make someone a target in this new system? When does your debit card get canceled over old tweets, your home loan denied for homeschooling your kids, or your eBay account invalidated because a friend flagged you for posting a Gadsden flag?”
We’ve already witnessed similar tyrannical behavior from the Canadian government when they shut down bank accounts of truckers and their supporters protesting vaccine mandates.
Is Major League Baseball’s use of facial recognition technology a step towards a communist Chinese-style takeover? Not necessarily, but it serves as a gentle introduction to a system that could potentially be turned against the American people, eroding their freedom.
Source: America’s Pastime? MLB Goes Full Commie With China-Style Ballpark Biometric Facial ID Scans (The Western Journal)
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