It read like a privacy issue. Then I read your comment, and was confused.

> More proper would be "NYPD Bypassed Facial Recognition Ban to ID Rock-Throwing Assailant"

This is inaccurate. The charges were dismissed. At best, it's an alleged rock-throwing assailant.

> In the end, this is not a free speech issue except tangentially; it is a privacy issue.

That's what the original headline suggested to me on first reading. Why did you think the headline was a free speech issue?

That being said, the threat of a government disobeying its own rules and policies is a deterrent to free speech.

It is likewise misleading to imply that the fact they are a student protester is irrelevant. They are trying very hard to make an example out of these people.

To engage in this discussion, you have to avoid falling into at least 4 major schisms where you can assume the other person is wrong about everything and dangerous to you, from Israel/Palestine, US privacy rights, US first amendment rights to protest, and US attitudes on policing.

[0] fiction about ml writing controversial news stories that tear communities apart https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/10/30/sort-by-controversial/

I don’t like how enhancements are distributed like candy.