Massive Attack have refuted online claims that they utilize facial recognition technology in their live performances.
The Bristol-based project is at the cutting edge of technology, art, and progressive political movements, strongly advocating for eco-politics and solidarity with Palestine. They frequently employ satire in their acts to critique authoritarian mindsets, although it appears one particular reference has been misunderstood by some.
During an animated segment, the band parodied the implementation of facial recognition, which led to inaccurate reports suggesting that Massive Attack is collecting data from their audience.
In a statement, the iconic Bristol group labeled these claims as "outright lies" while seeking to clarify the situation.
“Last week, several platforms, including ‘Somewhere.Media’, ‘Hidden’, and others published stories concerning our live show and the supposed use of live facial recognition technology.
“Propagated through the mindless replication channels of AI-generated Instagram accounts, the ‘story’ gained momentum, and between entertainment platforms and AI clone thought, nobody took the time to fact-check. Falsehoods and blatant lies spread alongside likes and shares. ‘Somewhere Media’ failed to adhere to any basic reporting standards, claiming that show material was ‘sourced from public databases.’”
“No Massive Attack live show has ever recorded or retained personal data,” they further noted; “Only government bodies, authorized entities, and licensed contractors can access public databases in the UK, and it would be impossible to do this across multiple cities/countries.”
Massive Attack went on to criticize the usage of public facial recognition in the UK, stating that the government is “exceeding almost all other western democracies in its use of public facial recognition … while there exists no specific legislation governing police use of these systems.”
Recently, Massive Attack made an appearance at Kneecap’s OVO Wembley Arena concert to publicly support the Belfast band.
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Massive Attack has denied online claims that they utilize facial recognition technology during their live performances. The Bristol-based project continues to lead in