- Published on
New York City Lawmakers Push to ‘Ban the Scan’ at MSG
- Authors
- Name
- DeepHorus
Privacy advocates and musicians rallied outside Madison Square Garden on Friday, pushing for new legislation to prevent facial-recognition technology at the venue and other public spaces in New York City. City Council member Shahana Hanif, who organized the event, led a chant of "ban the scan" and earlier proposed a bill to prohibit public venues from using biometric recognition. The bill has gained 27 endorsements—more than half the City Council—and Hanif says members are in talks with Speaker Julie Menin to advance it. Madison Square Garden has faced criticism for its biometric data practices, including maintaining watch lists of fans critical of CEO James Dolan or the New York Knicks. WIRED has reported that MSG security tracked a fan's movements at a game down to the minute, and the venue also assigns risk scores to around 400 celebrities and VIPs, with dossiers sometimes noting race and sexual orientation. MSG filed a defamation lawsuit against WIRED in July over these reports. At Friday's rally, Hanif was joined by Brooklyn-based musician Paisley Fields, NYC DSA Tech Action, and Fight for the Future. An MSG spokesperson defended the technology, saying that recognizing faces electronically is akin to human recognition. Hanif, a Muslim who grew up in post-9/11 New York, said many people do not realize the extent of surveillance they face simply by attending a Knicks game or concert. She also voiced concern about Dolan's close ties to President Donald Trump, suggesting that AI and surveillance tools marketed for safety are actually making New Yorkers less safe. The legislation's future is uncertain, but the strong support indicates a shift in the debate over biometric surveillance in public spaces.
