Thousands of people lined up outside Citi Field in Queens, New York on Wednesday to watch the Mets face off with the Orioles. But outside the ticketing booth, a handful of protesters handed out flyers. They were there to protest a recent Major League Baseball program, and one that's increasingly common in professional sports: using facial recognition on fans. Facial recognition companies and their customers argue that these systems save time, and therefore money, by shortening lines at stadium entrances. However, skeptics argue that the surveillance tools are never totally secure, make it easier for police to get information about fans, and fuel "mission creep" where surveillance technology becomes more common, or even required.

Baseball's COVID-19-shortened season hasn't gone too well because of multiple outbreaks that have raised calls to shut the season down. However, the league appears to be making plans not only to continue, but possibly have fans in stadiums during the pandemic. According to a Bloomberg report (via Gizmodo), the league has been investigating the use of cameras that could scan fans and spot individuals who are either not wearing masks or are using them improperly. A number of MLB teams have been in contact with a startup called Airspace systems, inquiring about AI software that could detect maskless fans. So far, Airspace has focused on detecting drones near airports and stadiums, but apparently its tech could be repurposed for face mask recognition.