Disney has rolled out facial recognition software at its theme parks in a fraud crackdown that has led to warnings from privacy experts. Pictures taken at certain entrances to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure in Anaheim are compared to images taken when a guest first used a ticket or annual pass, the company said, arguing that the technology can be used to stop fraud or potentially to prevent the misuse of annual passes. Facial recognition is optional and not in use at all entrances, Disney said. The data is deleted after 30 days except in cases where it “must be maintained for legal or fraud-prevention purposes”, according to the company’s website. Yet some experts have raised privacy concerns as the use of facial recognition software spreads throughout society. “The normalisation of facial surveillance is really problematic,” Ari Waldman, a professor of law at UC Irvine, told the Los Angeles Times. “We can’t go around life hiding our faces, so this isn’t just next step in surveillance; it’s qualitatively different. In a world of facial recognition, when people leave their house, it automatically means they’re identified.” Major sporting and entertainment venues have been using facial recognition software for what they say are security reasons. In Major League Baseball for example, many franchises allow fans to partake in “Go Ahead Entry”, which enables them to enter without a ticket as long as their faces are scanned. Madison Square Garden, the New York venue owned by the billionaire James Dolan, has been criticised for allegedly using the technology to keep track of critics of the businessman. The American Civil Liberties Union is among the groups that have previously raised the alarm about how prevalent the software is becoming in public life. Most fans at Disneyland recently paid little attention to the signs alerting