The controversy intensifies past disputes involving the entertainment venue's deployment of facial recognition tools to screen and exclude visitors. Past incidents include tracking databases that flagged certain performers as "LGBTQIA" and an occasion where an attorney was denied entry due to her firm's litigation against the company. City Council legislation spearheaded by member Shahana Hanif seeks to ban biometric data collection across public accommodations. A spokesperson for the venue did not respond to inquiries regarding the surveillance practices.
Key points
New York City currently requires commercial businesses to explicitly disclose when they c…: New York City currently requires commercial businesses to explicitly disclose when they collect biometric details from visitors.
Lawmakers are attempting to curtail corporate use of scanning tools through citywide bans…: Lawmakers are attempting to curtail corporate use of scanning tools through citywide bans on public biometric monitoring.
The company previously initiated legal action against Wired after reports exposed the tra…: The company previously initiated legal action against Wired after reports exposed the tracking systems used across its properties.
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Mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani has criticized the owner of Madison Square Garden, one of the city’s largest entertainment venues, arguing that the company’s surveillance technology should not be allowed.
Mamdani told Wired in an interview on Tuesday that surveillance technologies are “indicative of much that is wrong in our country today.” He added that City Council member Shahana Hanif introduced two pieces of local legislation aimed at banning the collection of biometric data, such as using facial recognition, in public places across the city. Mamdani said that the draft legislation is “an important response to this kind of an issue.”
The comments come after a stream of reporting from Wired detailing how Madison Square Garden’s owner James Dolan relies on surveillance cameras and face-scanning technology to track people across and outside of its venues.
In one report, Wired revealed that Dolan’s company keeps a database that, among other things, marks some visitors, including celebrity performers, as “LGBTQIA,” for reasons that are unclear. Dolan subsequently sued Wired over its reporting.
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