MSG Newsletter

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Friend, Apparently you can’t be affiliated with anyone speaking ill of Madison Square Garden Entertainment or you might not be let into one of their venues. In yet another incident, a third attorney was barred from entering Madison Square Garden at a Rangers game after being flagged by their facial recognition technology. Despite not being involved in any litigation against MSG Entertainment, merely being employed by one of the many firms fighting the corporate giant in court was enough to flag him for removal.   We can only imagine what’s next for MSG: Deploying facial recognition on Billy Joel critics? If they can do this to attorneys suing the company, they can also target employees and customers who sue the company for violating the law. And if MSG can get away with abusing this tech, there’s no guessing how other companies can abuse it, too. Barring New Yorkers from going to home games of their favorite sports teams is a dangerous start that can lead to denying access to the nearby grocery store or a local pharmacy. And this isn’t only happening at MSG –the New York Mets now use a facial recognition ticketing system, and we launched a petition for its immediate removal from Citi Field. These technologies are ripe for abuse, and it’s long past time that the city and state ban them. With your support, I hope you can help us urge city council to introduce legislation banning facial recognition at sporting events, concerts, and other public accommodations. Nothing should get in the way of us enjoying live entertainment, especially not biased and error-prone technology. In solidarity, Will Owen Communications Director  Share Tweet Forward