Midtown, Manhattan (WABC) — There are new calls for Madison Square Garden to stop using facial recognition.
In six months, Madison Square Garden Entertainment used the technology to evict three people from the Garden and Radio City Music Hall.
A group of local leaders say entertainment venues should not have the power to weaponize facial recognition to invade fans’ privacy.
They claim CEO James Dolan uses the technology to target opponents and kick them out of popular venues.
The group also asked Madison Square Garden Entertainment to erase the data it collected about its fans.
MSG Entertainment issued the following statement:
“Facial recognition technology is a useful tool that is widely used across the country in the sports and entertainment industry, retail stores, casinos, airports, and more to keep people visiting and working in these places safe. Our venues are in destinations around the world, some in major transportation hubs in the heart of New York City. We always make it clear to our guests and the public that we will be using facial recognition as one of our tools..”
They also said that facial recognition technology does not retain images of individuals.
“Facial Recognition Technology Systems will remove images of individuals, except those who have previously been notified that they have been banned from entering the venue or who have been identified as a security risk due to previous misconduct at the venue. Do not keep.”
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