Photo Credit: Marten Newhall
MSG’s database of celebs and other alleged fan-tracking activity catches the eye of NY legislators, who set their sights on the use of facial recognition tools.
As Madison Square Garden and its owner James Dolan come under media scrutiny over a leaked database of VIP attendees, lawmakers in New York are reigniting a push to limit companies’ use of facial recognition tech in public spaces.
New York State Representative Tony Simone and Senator Rachel May (both Democrats) are pushing a bill that would prevent companies from using facial recognition technology and other biometric data for surveillance purposes. The legislation was previously sponsored by former Democratic state senator and Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal.
“It’s not about security. It seems he’s running a little (…) mini-autocracy at Madison Square Garden,” Simone said of Dolan, MSG CEO and owner of the New York Knicks.
To that point, Simone claims that his invitation to drop the puck at a 2023 New York Rangers game was revoked after he spoke out over the venue’s surveillance tactics.
“They thought it was awkward, so I was disinvited when I criticized Dolan using this biometric surveillance tool,” said Simone.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has also been critical of the venue’s use of facial recognition technology, and was a co-sponsor of Simone’s biometric data bill when he was an assemblymember.
Previously, Mamdani celebrated the passage of a law that banned the Metropolitan Transportation Authority from using facial recognition to prevent fare evasion. Mamdani’s administration similarly stepped in to prevent Citi Bike from utilizing facial recognition tech to verify that riders are 16 or older.
The legislators’ move follows news of MSG’s legal action against Wired, whose coverage of the leaked MSG database drew the ire of the Dolan-owned institution for its alleged “false narrative portraying MSG as targeting the LGBTQIA community.”
MSG announced last week that it was suing Wired over the article, adding that “MSG is a fervent supporter of the LGBTQIA community with a long history of inclusion, not exclusion.”
“Wired combed the dark web, obtained data stolen from MSG by an extortionist hacking group, and cherry-picked fragments of that data to manufacture a false narrative portraying MSG as targeting the LGBTQIA community,” MSG wrote in its filing.
Wired released a statement noting that it stands by its reporting and plans to “vigorously defend it against this baseless and ridiculous lawsuit.”
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