[therobot24]

So i looked up burqa bans and found this: http://qz.com/326086/the-places-in-the-world-that-have-a-bur... which basically only has 2 European countries banning it nationally, and just a few more who implement local bans or have attempted to ban it. Provided the constitutional religious freedoms we have in the US, it seems very unlikely that a similar ban would pass here. In terms of obscuring your face, there are anti-mask laws, but they really pertain to protests/riots.

I'm not suggesting that the ban is good, or other countries will not follow suit, however it just seems like quite a jump to make - because 6 countries have some form of a ban on a burqa we have to watch out for face recognition. Should we not wear a cross if we're Christian because Syria persecutes Jehovah’s Witnesses?

[nerdcity]

http://qz.com/326086/the-places-in-the-world-that-have-a-bur...

In 2011, France went even further, forbidding concealment of people’s face in public—through a burqa, niqab (a version of the veil that leaves a slot for a woman’s eyes), but also masks or balaclavas

http://www.connexionfrance.com/cctv-video-surveillance-prote...

President Sarkozy wants 2011 to be the year that "vidéoprotection" goes mainstream, and has set a target of 60,000 cameras watching public spaces around the country by the end of this year, up from the current 20,000.

[therobot24]

Did you read my reply? I'm aware that France and a few other countries are placing a ban on burqas. I stated this very fact.

So i guess i'm confused what you're getting at here.

[nerdcity]

I'm just noting that the timing coincides with an upward usage of cctv and public surveillance.

[therobot24]

Oh ok. Yea that's a good point. Though i stated in another reply that images of unconstrained users from NIR sensors is still an active and less successful form of face recognition. It's actually part of what i work on!