Madison Square Garden compiled a list of activists who have publicly criticized the venue\u2019s use of facial recognition technology, putting their tweets and comments into a document that was then accessible to other people inside the company, 404 Media has found.The news shows that MSG, operated by Jim Dolan who has garnered a reputation for being pernicious against his perceived enemies, is not only deploying controversial facial recognition technology but keeping track of specific people who take issue with it. The document was included in a 45GB cache of data hackers stole from MSG and posted online this month, which 404 Media then downloaded and reviewed.\u201cThe wake of a data breach would be a good time for Madison Square Garden to stop subjecting its patrons to biometric surveillance,\u201d Adam Schwartz, privacy litigation director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and one of the people included in the document, told 404 Media.The document, titled \u201cFacial Recognition Activists.docx\u201d and included in a folder named \u201cActivists,\u201d lists three people who have criticized MSG\u2019s use of facial recognition: Evan Greer, director of digital rights group Fight for the Future; Albert Fox Cahn, founder and executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP); and the EFF\u2019s Schwartz. All three of the activists have been quoted in major media articles discussing MSG\u2019s facial recognition technology, including in NPR and The New York Times.In each section, the document includes background information on the activist, their contact information if available, their social media handles and follower count, then quotes each have previously said about MSG\u2019s facial recognition program. The document also includes screenshots of several of Greer\u2019s relevant tweets. One says, \u201cHey New Yorkers, who are the coolest people on the NYC city council who might wanna introduce a facial recognition ban like the one in Portland, OR that would stop Madison Square Garden from using biometric surveillance?\u201d\u00a0\ud83d\udca1Do you know anything else about facial recognition? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at joseph.404 or send me an email at joseph@404media.co.At the time of the screenshot, Greer had posted the tweet 16 hours prior. The document is dated as December 23, 2022, 1pm. It was available inside an MSG SharePoint instance, suggesting it was available to people other than the author.\u201cThe fact that MSG is creating dossiers on activists who say things they don’t like shows exactly why private companies should not be allowed to use dangerous surveillance technologies like facial recognition,\u201d Greer told 404 Media in an email. \u201cLarge companies can and will use surveillance tech to punish critics, exploit workers, and consolidate power, with no regard for the basic rights they trample in the process.\u201dIn the document, MSG misgenders Greer. \u201cGiven their recent treatment of a trans woman trying to use the bathroom in their venue, I’m also not surprised they misgendered me,\u201d Greer added, pointing to a case reported in a recent in-depth report from WIRED on MSG\u2019s surveillance practices.It is not clear who wrote the document. MSG did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
MSG has deployed facial recognition technology since 2018 to identify people entering the venue. MSG\u2019s facial recognition systems have been used to block entry to the stadium for all sorts of people. The list includes lawyers who work at law firms in litigation with MSG, even if they are not part of the litigation themselves; and potentially a man who once made a shirt that criticized Dolan.In the recent WIRED investigation, the outlet reported security chief John Eversole visited the websites of more than 90 firms and fed photos of 1,200 lawyers into MSG\u2019s facial recognition software.As Schwartz said in earlier media coverage about the technology: \u201cIt raises the question of what\u2019s going to come next. Will companies use facial recognition to keep out all the people who have picketed the business or criticized them online with a negative Yelp review?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"