Lawmakers and privacy advocates have called on the owner of Madison Square Garden to stop using facial recognition technology on its fans.
Over the weekend, Senator Kristen Gonzalez joined advocates calling for MSG Entertainment to seize the right to use the technology on fans.
“It’s unbelievable to not only see another example of someone with money and power using that power against others, but also abusing surveillance technology,” Gonzalez said.
This can be traced back to an incident in which attorneys involved in a lawsuit against MSG Entertainment were barred from its arena and Radio City Music Hall.
Lawmakers say venues should not have the right to weaponize facial recognition to discriminate against patrons and steal personal information.
A MSG spokesperson provided the following statement to News 12:
“The facial recognition technology system does not retain images of individuals, except those who have been previously notified that they are prohibited from entering our premises, or whose previous inappropriate behavior on our premises has been identified as a safety risk.”
