#BanTheScan at MSG!We called on the City Council to finally ban biometric surveillance in arenas, grocery stores, and other public accommodations in New York City.
Friend,
Yesterday, S.T.O.P. joined Fight for the Future, City Council Member Shahana Hanif, DSA Tech Action Network, artists Cristy Road and Paisley Fields, Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, and more outside Madison Square Garden—the world’s most famous arena and one of the country's most infamous abusers of facial recognition. We called on the City Council to finally ban biometric surveillance in arenas, grocery stores, and other public accommodations in New York City.
For years, MSG owner James Dolan has used facial recognition to scan every person entering his venues and to ban individuals he dislikes. The company has also targeted a transgender Knicks fan, kept a list of queer celebrities, and compiled a dossier on activists fighting facial recognition, including S.T.O.P. Founder Albert Fox Cahn. Tellingly, MSG suspended its facial recognition system for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding, one of the year's highest-profile events — proof this technology isn't the safety necessity Dolan claims.
But facial recognition isn't just an MSG problem. From CitiField to Wegmans, biometric surveillance has spread rapidly across New York City, threatening the privacy of New Yorkers going about our daily lives. You can change your password or credit card number, but you cannot change your face. And right now, New York City businesses only need to post a notice to collect this data, not ask permission. We don’t know how this data may be retained or shared—including with immigration or law enforcement—posing an alarming threat to immigrant New Yorkers and overpoliced Black and Brown communities.
That's why we’re demanding the City Council pass Intro 0213, Council Member Hanif's bill to ban biometric surveillance across all public accommodations, not just the city’s largest concert halls.
Take action today! Visit banthescan.org to contact your City Council member and urge them to support Intro 0213.
