United StatesMedia and entertainment2022 – ongoingMadison Square Garden Entertainment
Facial recognition used to identify and bar lawyers at firms suing the company
MSG Entertainment used facial recognition to turn away lawyers suing it, and a federal judge dismissed the biometric-law claims
Problem
MSG Entertainment was in litigation with a number of law firms. In June 2022 it introduced a policy barring lawyers from firms suing it from its venues while the cases ran.
Approach
MSG used facial recognition at its venues to identify attorneys from the affected firms. In late 2022 a lawyer from a firm suing the company was turned away from Radio City Music Hall while with a Girl Scout group, which brought the policy to public notice. MSG said the policy covered all attorneys at affected firms because it did not know which ones worked on the cases. The New York State Liquor Authority examined whether the use broke liquor license conditions.
Results
No published figures
Takeaway
In January 2024 a federal court dismissed some claims and kept one, under New York City's biometric identifier law. In May 2024 Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed that last claim, finding MSG did not profit from the vendor contract or the data matching. Reports also said a New York court overturned an earlier order that had barred MSG from using the system to enforce the ban.
Categories
- Size
- Large enterprise
- Industry
- Media and entertainment
- Business function
- Production and qualityFinance, risk and legal
- Innovation type
- Process innovation
- AI technology
- Computer vision
- Adoption
- Vendor solution
- Goal
- Quality and risk
- Evidence
- Press reporting
Sources
Source summaries
Reports that a lawyer at a firm suing MSG Entertainment was turned away from Radio City Music Hall after facial recognition identified her. MSG said the policy began in June and applied to all attorneys at affected firms while litigation continued.
Reports that the Southern District of New York dismissed the last claim against MSGE under New York City's biometric identifier law, after other claims were dismissed in January 2024. It also notes the state liquor authority's examination of the facial recognition use and a state court ruling that overturned an earlier order against MSGE.
Full details are in the original sources.