Madison Square Garden Secretly Scans Faces for Security

Madison Square Garden has been secretly scanning faces at events in order to bolster its security, according to a report. 

Sources close to the Garden told The New York Times the face-scanning software had been used, but didn’t have details on how many times it was used or what was done with the information gathered.

The Garden hosts the NBA’s New York Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers as well as concerts, boxing matches, and the Grammy Awards. The venue typically has a heavy police presence because of its location above Penn Station in Manhattan, as well as metal detectors and at times bag searches and explosive-sniffing dogs. 

“MSG continues to test and explore the use of new technologies to ensure we’re employing the most effective security procedures to provide a safe and wonderful experience for our guests,” the Garden said in a statement to the Times about the practice.

Some experts have said facial recognition isn’t likely to be effective at identifying anything but the very highest level law enforcement targets because the databases aren’t set up to filter out everyone who may be wanted by law enforcement yet, Engadget reported.

Still, American Civil Liberties Union analyst Jay Stanley says it’s unethical not to tell people that data about them is being collected.

“I should know if I am being subject to facial recognition if I am going into any business, including a stadium,” Stanley told Engadget. “Even if you are just running my face against a list of people who have been banned from the premises and doing nothing else with it. I want to know. I have a right to know.”

• Facebook Facial Recognition Wants to Manage Your Identity
• Half of Americans on Databases Used for Facial Recognition