{"id":14363,"date":"2026-07-01T08:04:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T01:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/?p=14363"},"modified":"2026-07-01T08:04:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T01:04:14","slug":"world-cup-propels-surveillance-to-new-heights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/world-cup-propels-surveillance-to-new-heights\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup propels surveillance to new\u00a0heights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Under the watchful eye of surveillance cameras, fans leave after the France-Senegal World Cup match in East Rutherford, N.J., on June 16, 2026. AP Photo\/Ted Shaffrey<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the largest sporting event in history. It\u2019s also the most surveilled World Cup ever. If you\u2019re visiting or traveling around host cities, then you and your face, behavior, movement and devices are being monitored by governments and private companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. government funneled more than US$1 billion to World Cup security to protect transit hubs, stadiums and surrounding areas; improve tactical operations such as bomb squads and SWAT teams; and add and upgrade equipment. It\u2019s been a bonanza for the private sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of the investment in surveillance was done in the name of preventing harm from unauthorized drone use. Indeed, protecting against that threat is helping fuel the rapidly expanding government-private sector partnership in surveillance technology development and acquisition, which poses a different risk \u2013 to privacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an attorney, author and educator who has worked for decades in privacy and surveillance, I\u2019ve advised law enforcement about using drones and understand that security is critical to keeping people safe. The argument for security, however, is too often the catalyst to fund, develop and increase government surveillance capabilities that erode civil liberties, chill speech and undermine freedom of association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in my experience, surveillance-friendly policies and tech systems, once in place, rarely go away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Police are using camera-equipped robotic dogs to patrol around World Cup stadiums in Dallas and in East Rutherford, N.J., as well as in Monterrey, Mexico. Alfredo Lopez\/Jam Media\/Getty Images<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Cameras, drones and AI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The level of surveillance around this World Cup and changes in U.S. law and immigration policies prompted over 120 civil society groups \u2013 including Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union \u2013 to issue a travel advisory. They warn that people visiting the U.S. may be subject to harms that breach the country\u2019s legal human rights obligations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That advisory lists risks of invasive social media screening, searches of electronic devices, racial profiling, arrest, detention, deportation and even death. European governments have issued travel advisories warning of surveillance and profiling as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI-driven surveillance is playing a major role across the World Cup. The stadiums in host cities are equipped with facial recognition cameras that can collect and analyze facial biometrics of people in and around the stadiums. That data can be retained and used in future ways, unknown and uncontrolled by those whose biometric data has been collected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proliferation of facial recognition at events reflects a broader global trend normalizing biometric surveillance as these systems expand across cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many states, like New York, are using federal funding for World Cup security to increase the number, capabilities and use of drones by law enforcement. Drones are remarkably capable and powerful surveillance tools easy to load with cameras, microphones, advanced sensors and weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI-supported autonomous software allows drones to monitor areas, track movement and gather intelligence. The drones can be powerful enough to scan entire cities or zoom in and read a milk carton from 60,000 feet (18,288 meters). They can carry technology that allows them to function like a cellphone tower, permitting law enforcement to determine your location or intercept texts and phone calls. Citywide drone networks could become the new normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cameras are proliferating on the ground, as well. Robot dogs equipped with cameras are prowling in Dallas and New Jersey. And Seattle\u2019s mayor decided to turn on and expand a major closed-circuit television system that had been previously shut down because of biometric privacy concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Seattle\u2019s mayor said that the city is refining its policies to protect the surveillance data, numerous states and cities \u2013 with the aid of federal funding related to World Cup security \u2014 are rapidly expanding CCTV systems. Some CCTV systems were installed decades ago in major urban, high-tourism areas, like New York\u2019s Times Square and the National Mall in Washington D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, CCTV systems cover much greater areas, and with advances in artificial intelligence software, data analytics and increased technical capabilities, like thermal imaging, far more information can be gleaned from the captured data. CCTV systems can now detect, identify and classify objects, people and even people\u2019s behavior. Government data fusion centers can merge that rich data with other intelligence and analyze it to identify individuals and reveal and predict patterns and behavior. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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