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New York Attorney General
Letitia James
is asking
Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp.
for information related to its alleged use of facial recognition technology to prevent certain ticket holders from entering its venues.
The state attorney general’s office said Wednesday the company, which operates Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall in New York City, has reportedly used the technology to bar lawyers from firms who are suing the company over unrelated matters from seeing sporting events or concerts.
The company’s actions appear to have affected attorneys at more than 90 law firms, and may violate New York’s civil- and human-rights laws, the office said.
“MSG Entertainment cannot fight their legal battles in their own arenas,” Ms. James said in a statement. “Anyone with a ticket to an event should not be concerned that they may be wrongfully denied entry based on their appearance, and we’re urging MSG Entertainment to reverse this policy.”
In the letter, the attorney general’s office said it was looking into whether the facial recognition software at issue is reliable and has safeguards to prevent bias. It asked the company to explain what efforts it is making to ensure its facial-recognition technology won’t lead to discrimination. It gave the company until Feb. 13 to respond.
Lawyers for Madison Square Garden Entertainment, which also operates the Beacon and Hulu theaters in New York, didn’t respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
The company was sued last year by law firm Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP, which said nearly 60 of its attorneys were barred from entering venues owned by Madison Square Garden Entertainment because the firm represented ticket resellers suing the company.
New York State Supreme Court Judge Lyle Frank ruled in November the company couldn’t stop anyone who had a valid ticket from seeing a show or concert, but could deny them from buying a ticket or revoking the ticket before the show.
—Joseph Pisani contributed to this article
Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com
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