The state’s top cop is looking into a viral scandal involving the use of face recognition technology to ban customers from New York City entertainment venues.
According to a statement released by her office, New York Attorney General Letitia James wrote to Madison Square Garden Entertainment on Wednesday, the parent company of iconic New York City venues such as Radio City Music Hall( Facebook) and Madison Square Garden, asking for clarification on the policy and suggesting it might be illegal.
Her office said that the letter also raises concerns about the accuracy of facial recognition technology and the existence of controls to prevent discrimination. Lawyer Kelly Conlon tried to accompany her daughter’s Girl Scout troop to a Rockettes performance the weekend following Thanksgiving, but she was denied entry after a facial scan.
Reportedly, MSG Entertainment, the parent business of Radio City Music Hall, has a “attorney exclusion list” in place, which blacklists employees of law firms involved in litigation with the company, even if the lawyer in question is not personally involved in the case.
Chcek out more updated news
- A Tornado Deemed Very Dangerous Strikes Texas Storms Move Across Florida: Updates
- Khloé Kardashian Remembers Tristan Thompson’s Mother in Heartfelt Post
The Attorney General Of New York Has Expressed Concern Regarding Facial Recognition Technology
The New York Times said that Conlon wasn’t personally involved, but that her firm had filed suit against one of the company’s eateries. New York’s NBC affiliate was the first to report the event at Radio City Music Hall.
The New York Post reported last month that another attorney, like Conlon, was ejected from a basketball game at Madison Square Garden using facial recognition software for the same reason. James stated in a statement on Wednesday, “MSG Entertainment cannot fight their legal battles in their own facilities.”
She also emphasised that, as globally famous facilities, Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall have a responsibility to treat all ticketholders with justice and respect. We are asking MSG Entertainment to reconsider this policy because “anyone with a ticket to an event should not be frightened that they may be wrongly denied admittance based on their appearance.”
A representative for MSG Entertainment shot against the letter’s claims that the company’s face recognition programme was illegal or motivated by retaliation in a statement to ABC News.
It is not our intention to discourage attorneys from defending plaintiffs in lawsuit against us, and it is important for us to make clear that our policy does not unjustly bar anyone from visiting our venues “a representative has stated. During the course of the litigation, we are simply barring a small number of attorneys from representing either party.
Furthermore, the representative stated, “It is ridiculous to even suggest that anyone is being rejected based on the protected classes mentioned in state and federal civil rights statutes.” “Plaintiff lawyers who sue businesses for sexual harassment or other forms of discrimination in the workplace have never been subject to our rules.
