(C) Common Dreams
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Madison Square Garden Uses Facial Recognition to Ban Its Owner’s Enemies [1]
['Kashmir Hill', 'Corey Kilgannon']
Date: 2022-12-22
“This is punitive as opposed to protective. It sets a precedent for other businesses to identify their critics and punish them,” Mr. Schwartz said. “It raises the question of what’s going to come next. Will companies use facial recognition to keep out all the people who have picketed the business or criticized them online with a negative Yelp review?”
MSG Entertainment officials called the technology a useful and widely used safety tool at many sports and entertainment venues, and noted that their New York City locations are near major transit hubs.
The Garden is already known for its tight security. There is always a heavy police presence in part because the arena is in the heart of Midtown Manhattan and built above Pennsylvania Station, the nation’s busiest rail terminal. The station is patrolled by law enforcement officers and sometimes soldiers on alert for terrorism. Fans attending events at the Garden go through screenings that can include metal detectors, bag searches and explosive-sniffing dogs.
“We have always made it clear to our guests and to the public that we use facial recognition as one of our tools,” the company said in a statement.
High-tech surveillance by government is already common in New York City. The Police Department relies on a toolbox that includes not only facial recognition, but drones and mobile X-ray vans, and this month the department said it would join Neighbors, a public neighborhood-watch platform owned by Amazon. Neighbors allows video doorbell owners to post clips online, and police officers can enlist the help of residents in investigations.
A city law introduced last year requires commercial establishments to notify customers when biometric technologies such as facial recognition are in use. Signs at Radio City Music Hall and other venues inform patrons that the technology is in place “to ensure the safety of everyone.”
While MSG Entertainment officials would not say which facial recognition vendor they use, several companies offer the ability to create a database and generate an alert when a known face is spotted by surveillance cameras.
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[1] Url:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/22/nyregion/madison-square-garden-facial-recognition.html
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