Coronavirus masks make it harder for facial recognition algorithms to ID people, study finds

Protesters in Austin, Texas; Tempe, Ariz.; and Portland, Ore., took the streets in their respective cities to march in step with the Black Lies Matter movement. In some instances, police and federal agents clashed with protesters, but in one demonstration, protesters paid their respects to one of their own in Texas. Coronavirus face masks can confuse facial recognition technology, government researchers announced Monday after a preliminary study on the issue. Facial recognition algorithms developed before the outbreak struggle to identify people wearing masks or face coverings, according to a new study from the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The NIST looked at 89 commercial algorithms and found that even the best had error rates of around 5 percent when trying to match a masked individual's face with their unmasked appearance – up from a normal rate of 0.3 percent when trying to match two photos of the same person.