Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. MSGE 3.08% has requested information from New York Attorney General Letitia James regarding the alleged use of facial recognition technology to block access to the site for certain ticket holders.
The company that operates Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall in New York is reportedly using the technology to prevent company lawyers from suing the company over absenteeism issues at a sporting event or concert on Wednesday the state attorney general's office said.
The company's actions appear to have affected attorneys at more than 90 law firms and may have violated New York's civil and human rights laws, the office said.
"MSG Entertainment cannot fight its own legal battle in its own arena," Ms. Jamie said. "Anyone with tickets to the event should not have to worry about being denied entry due to their performance, and we are calling on MSG Entertainment to rescind this policy."
In the letter, the attorney general's office said it checks whether the facial recognition software is reliable and has safeguards to prevent bias. He asked the company to explain what efforts are being made so that facial recognition technology does not lead to discrimination. He gave the company until February 13 to respond.
A spokesperson for MSG Entertainment said the policy does not prohibit trespassing on the premises. "During an active trial, we only exclude a small percentage of lawyers," said the spokesperson. "To suggest that anyone would be excluded from the protected classes defined by state and federal civil rights laws is ludicrous."
Three law firms, Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, Greenberg Law and Burns & Harris, sued the company, alleging that MSG Entertainment barred all of its lawyers from sporting events and concerts because the companies represented the plaintiffs' interests in public. In one case, a Burns & Harris attorney said he was barred from attending a Mariah Carey concert at Madison Square Garden in December and asked to leave the venue.
The judges awarded partial victories to various law firms. In Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP, for example, New York State Supreme Court Justice Lyle Frank ruled that a company cannot prevent someone with a valid ticket from seeing a show or concert, but can refuse to buy or cancel a ticket. The entrance. .before the session. The resolution does not apply to sports events.
A representative for MSG Entertainment said the company was in contact.
"We continue to vigorously defend and enforce our policy and are confident that the Appeals Chamber will prevail on us in our full appeal," the spokesperson said.
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