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New York – Today, after Madison Square Garden (MSG) Entertainment deported a fourth person using facial recognition technology, elected officials and privacy advocates rallied outside MSG to demand that the company immediately stop using inappropriate technology against fans.
The coalition says venues should not have the power to weaponize facial recognition to discriminate against patrons and steal their personal information.They consider this approach to be msg claimNot about public safety, but being used to suppress free speech and invade privacy.
Attendees include State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, State Senator Liz Krueger, Senator Brian Kavanagh, Senator Kristen Gonzalez, Assemblyman Tony Simone, Assemblyman Alex Bores, Council Member Erik Bottcher, Albert Fox Cahn – Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Founder and Executive Director (STOP), and the Policing and Social Justice Project.
“There is absolutely no security purpose in deporting a young mother who accompanied her daughter on a Girl Scout field trip,” State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal Say. “MSG Entertainment is using facial recognition systems to automatically discriminate, invade individuals’ privacy, and silence any criticism of the company. It sets a dangerous precedent that allows MSG Entertainment to maintain this power, and we demand that they immediately stop using this highly flawed technology .”
The coalition called on MSG Entertainment to develop and adhere to a written policy setting out guidelines for the permanent destruction of biometric data after the original purpose for which such data was collected has been fulfilled. Elected officials in attendance and Congressman Jerry Nadler responded to the request by writing a letter to MSG Entertainment CEO James Dolan.
They point to MSG Entertainment receiving tax breaks for New York State’s Madison Square Garden worth about $43 million a year, a special New York City license (expiring this year), and numerous licenses from the New York State Liquor Authority. As a public venue, MSG Entertainment has a legal obligation to New Yorkers and the public to protect them from discrimination and to cease harassment.
“If Madison Square Garden can use biometrics to bar lawyers from its premises, what can ordinary New Yorkers do? I am appalled at the lack of oversight regulating the use of biometrics by private and public entities across the country. As emerging technologies continue to dominate us everyday life, it is long overdue for the state to step in and enact regulations to protect our right to privacy and protection from discrimination,” he said. Senator Kristin GonzalezChairman of the Senate Internet and Technology Committee.
“MSG Entertainment’s use of facial recognition technology to ban members of the public, not for security reasons, but for perceived legal adversary is incredibly disturbing,” said MP Tony Simon“Madison Square Garden operates under a special license from the City of New York, is licensed by the State Liquor Authority, and receives significant state tax breaks. Any policy of keeping the public out for reasons other than safety must cease immediately .”
“Who is actually going to court to sue the largest corporation in the country if they can retaliate in this way?” Albert Fox-Kahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, said. “If MSG can do this to lawyers who sue companies, they can also target employees and customers who sue companies for breaking the law. Thinking that other companies might follow suit, and any time you exercise your rights in court means being barred from public life “It’s scary. If New Yorkers can be banned from a Rangers game, they can also be banned from a grocery store or drug store. The time is ripe for these technologies to be abused, and the time for cities and states to ban them is long past. Giving corporations, wealthy individuals and governments the ability to track almost anyone at any time is a recipe for disaster.”
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