The Legal Aid Society and legal experts throughout New York City are sounding the alarm over NYPD surveillance technology and its potential for misuse and over-policing after the arrest of a noted Black Lives Matter activist was made using facial recognition software on a photo from his online social media account, according to Gothamist.

The arrest of 28-year-old Derrick Ingram has sent chills through the civil liberties communities, who see in advanced facial recognition capabilities a means of casting a wide digital dragnet, potentially over entire crowds of New Yorkers engaging in peaceful protest, even when they are not participating in criminal acts.

“This policy as it currently stands has the potential to be used as a wide dragnet to identify people who are at a protest, who happen to witness an alleged crime, regardless of whether they had any part in it or any other knowledge involving it,” said Jerome Greco, supervising attorney for The Legal Aid Society’s Digital Forensics Unit.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, encountering criticism over use of the technology, signaled that it has no place being used in the context of protests, though critics continue to push for its restriction until a regulatory task force is established to oversee its use.