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New York Attorney General Letitia James letter Ask MSG Entertainment, the owner and operator of Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall, about its use of facial recognition to deny access to lawyers representing companies representing its legal opponents. James’ letter warned that Orwellian policies could violate local, state and federal human rights laws, including those prohibiting retaliation.
MSG Entertainment’s facial recognition has Identify and deny access Lawyers for companies that sue companies on behalf of their clients—whether those lawyers are directly involved in the case or not. The firm, led by CEO James Dolan (who also owns the New York Knicks and Rangers), defended the policy, describing it as an attempt to prevent the collection of evidence “outside of proper litigation discovery channels.”However, lawyers have known as This justification was “ridiculous,” criticizing the ban as a “clear effort” to punish the lawyers who prosecuted them.
Since October, the company has removed at least four attorneys from events at its venues — including Knicks and Rangers games, concerts and Christmas shows. When going through a metal detector, the arena’s facial recognition matches lawyers with photos on their firm’s website. The policy affects all attorneys working for more than 90 firms, James’ office said.
In the letter, James warned MSG Entertainment that preventing people from entering venues could violate New York’s civil and human rights laws, while causing other attorneys to think twice about bringing legal cases against the company. “MSG Entertainment cannot litigate in its own field,” AG James said. “Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall are world-renowned venues and all ticketed patrons should be treated with fairness and respect. Anyone with tickets to an event need not worry that they may be wrongfully denied admission due to their appearance , we urge MSG Entertainment to rescind this policy.”
It’s not just the attorney general taking on Dolan and MSG Entertainment. New York State Senators Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Liz Krueger and Tony Simone introduce A bill on Monday outlawed that policy. It would amend previous state civil rights laws to prohibit venues from denying entry to anyone with a valid ticket, adding “sporting events” to the list of eligible events.
madison square garden has use facial recognition It’s been a security concern since at least 2018. In his letter, James called on MSG Entertainment to justify its use of the technology and report on its steps to comply with New York’s civil and human rights laws to ensure the technology does not lead to further discrimination. “Discrimination and retaliation against those who petition the government for redress,” the letter read, “have no place in New York.”
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