NYPD videotaped people leaving Drake concert, privacy advocates concerned

After a Drake concert at a Manhattan theater, some of the audience went outside to see officers from the New York Police Department filming them.

The NYPD said Monday that the video would only be used for social media posts, but there were still calls for the material to be removed.

New York Times music writer John Caramanica tweeted on Saturday night that the NYPD was filming people leaving the show at the Apollo Theater. He included a video showing police officers appearing to be recording people walking outside.

In a statement, the department said the officers were part of the local district’s social media team and had obtained videos of social media posts about local events.

“The video will not be used for any other reason,” the agency said.

But the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, a New York City-based group focused on privacy and civil rights, Called the video shoot ‘very concerning’ Attendees were being monitored without their consent. It destroyed the video and asked the New York Police Department to clarify “whether it was used for facial recognition.”

The group also reiterated that it wants states and cities to ban facial recognition software for police and at sporting events, concerts and other public events in general.