So… the Harper government wants to make the act of wearing a mask to conceal one’s identity during a riot or unlawful assembly punishable with up to five years of jail time. Bill C-309 is yet another example of the “tough on crime” stance our elected representatives seem to be jamming down our throats.
On one hand, I get it. Having watched the asshats destroy property during last year’s Stanley Cup Riots, I appreciate the use of facial recognition technologies. I also get that a mask, much like an internet handle, can provide people with the kind of anonymity that allows and even encourages them to embrace their inner troublemaker.
Outside of Halloween and children’s theatre, masks are usually seen as a threat
That I acknowledge all of this does not mean I support Bill C-309.
I’m also not a fan of facial recognition. To me, it’s creepy and, like DNA-tests, it is not nearly as accurate as it is perceived to be. In fact, if you start digging through the reasons for the delay in proceedings of the Vancouver riots, you’ll find that police had to rely not on facial recognition alone but on corroborating identifications by witnesses and the public.
So, what’s the point of Bill C-309? If a person wears a mask, they are not likely to be recognized by facial recognition software which means their identity is not likely to be confirmed by witnesses or the public. If they can’t be identified, how are they to be charged? This is only useful for police on the spot who are arresting people and, frankly, in a riot situation, I just don’t see that happening in a way that would make the law effective.
On the other hand, CV Dazzle is a way to foil facial recognition software through the application of asymmetrical makeup and hair styles that look like they are out of a 1970s sci-fi film. The process takes its name from camouflage used on naval ships in WWII and it is surprisingly effective against current recognition software.
Since it is effective and it’s not a mask, I expect the next Bill will cover camouflage makeup and similar.
