Beijing has already allowed the world a glimpse of the lengths that an authoritarian state armed with digital surveillance technology will go to stamp out any and all behavior deemed "undesirable" - even if it's as mundane and harmless as wearing pajamas in public.

H/T: Zero Hedge

As London begins to follow in their footsteps, public acceptance of facial recognition technology is happening at a much quicker pace than in the US, and laws have already been established that can lead to fines for individuals that try to avoid cameras in some cases.

But in the US, lawmakers continue to grapple over how to regulate the use of facial recognition in public spaces, leaving American citizens exposed to the risk that the technology will outpace Washington and fully entrench itself before regulations can be enacted.

The invasion of privacy inherent in the use of facial-recognition systems was absolutely unthinkable in the West only a few short years ago. Is it too late to stop it now?

Orwellian: Facial recognition to be rolled out across London by police despite a 96% error rate: Police are to start using controversial facial recognition across London, despite concerns over the technology's accuracy and privacy issues. Eight trials… https://t.co/goZfLmWumR pic.twitter.com/R8DdpfCi8B — The Cartel (@Skowtura_Ini) January 25, 2020

The @libertyhq team has their say on London's implementation of facial recognition technology. pic.twitter.com/yS4G00VSrg — IPVanish (@IPVanish) January 25, 2020

‘Orwellian state surveillance’: Met police presents facial recognition cameras on London streets & faces backlash online https://t.co/GKRczlseDS pic.twitter.com/P7dnYLM5Q5 — Blazing CatFur (@Blazingcatfur) January 25, 2020