Gonzalez calls for oversight after MSG's exclusions
Kristen GonzalezNew York state senator and technology committee chair
Gonzalez expresses alarm about biometric oversight after MSG excluded an attorney and calls for privacy regulation.
“If Madison Square Garden can use biometric technology to ban an attorney from its premises, what recourse is there for the average New Yorker? I'm alarmed by the lack of oversight regulating the use of biometric technologies by both private and public entities in the State.”
Official statement
Where this statement fits
James Dolan defends MSG's facial-recognition lawyer exclusions; New York officials object
In January 2023, James Dolan defended MSG Entertainment's use of facial recognition to bar lawyers at firms suing the company, saying a property owner may choose whom it serves. Letitia James and Brad Hoylman-Sigal objected that the policy punished people for pursuing legal claims. A New York appeals court later held that state law requires MSG to admit ticket holders to concerts and theatrical shows but not sporting events, with damages as the only remedy. MSG described the exclusions as a safety measure in 2025, and WIRED reported in May 2026 that MSG had revoked the tickets of a lawyer suing it.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
A state Senate release quotes lawmakers and S.T.O.P. opposing the exclusion of attorneys based on their employers' litigation. It includes requests for privacy safeguards and scrutiny of public benefits.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Elected officials and privacy advocates rallied after MSG used facial recognition to exclude an attorney from a venue.
After the quotation
In the same statement, Gonzalez said it is long overdue for the state to step in and enact regulations protecting the right to privacy and guarding against discrimination.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Reference point: MSG's policy of excluding lawyers at firms suing it. Gonzalez asks what recourse ordinary New Yorkers have if MSG can ban an attorney with biometric technology and says the lack of oversight is alarming. The question treats the exclusion as a misuse of the technology, so the statement is criticism. Mixed or conditional loses because Gonzalez expresses no support for any part of the practice.
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More from this case
Read the full caseEFF criticizes MSG's exclusions and warns they could spread to protesters
Electronic Frontier Foundation
“Madison Square Gardens was recently caught using this technology to exclude employees of a law firm that sued the venue’s parent company. ... A business could easily extend this kind of “enemies list” to people who, online or on the sidewalk outside, protest a venue’s discriminatory policies.”Read statement
Williams rejects employer-based venue exclusions
“Individuals should not be removed from a place of business, because their employer is involved in legal action against said business.”Read statement
NYCLU calls MSG's ticket-holder exclusions an example of surveillance dangers
New York Civil Liberties Union
“The widely reported deployment of facial recognition at Madison Square Garden to ban people from the stadium that had already purchased tickets ... illustrates the dangers from the growing surveillance industry and the urgent need for comprehensive privacy protections.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Gonzalez calls for oversight after MSG's exclusions". First published: 2026-10-18. Last updated: 2026-10-18. https://disputeindex.com/events/5940-gonzalez-expresses-alarm-about-biometric-oversight-after-msg