I Don't Like This!

Big Brother is coming!

They just put speed cameras around town. In the past, I wrote about them, but this time I want to write about the data. Who gets to see it? How do they get to see the data—do they need a subpoena or just cash? How long do they keep it? And most importantly... how many errors does it make? In other words, what is its accuracy? Those are all questions that need answers. We are already seeing ICE and CBP agents getting unfettered access to data in states that supposedly require a subpoena.

But now they have taken it a step further..

Facial recognition tech is coming to a queer bar near you — if it’s not already there
Local media and a digital rights organization are sounding the alarm in San Francisco.
LGBT Nation
Greg Owen

June 19, 2026

A digital rights advocacy group is reupping its call to ban biometric facial recognition technology in bars and other venues serving the LGBTQ+ community after new reporting revealed widespread use of the technology in San Francisco’s Castro District.

This week, Gazetteer SF put a spotlight on the face-scanning technology that’s been hiding in plain sight in multiple Castro venues for over a year.

 

Hart Owen, a guest at Mix bar on 18th Street in the iconic gayborhood, said she was taken aback when she saw the tech stationed at the bar’s front entrance.   

She’d just handed her ID to the bouncer when she was directed to turn and face a small camera before being allowed into the bar.

I don't know if I would want to go to a place that does that.

Why are San Francisco gay bars scanning patrons’ faces?
Guests say the use of facial recognition technology at Castro bars undermines the sense of anonymity and safety that LGBTQ+ spaces have historically provided.

 The Advocate

Jacob Ogles

Jun 12, 2026

 

The use of facial-scanning technology at several San Francisco gay bars has angered many in the LGBTQ+ community. At locations often frequented by people who are not publicly out, the notion of tracking patrons' whereabouts in the very havens sought for privacy raises many alarms.

At least three gay bars in the Castro District have started using Patronscan Guard+, a technology intended to flag fake IDs, according to the San Francisco Gazetteer. But the experience of having a camera turned on every person entering the venues, often without warning, has left many outraged.

Yeah, I would be alarmed too! As a member of a highly persecuted minority, I can't help but wonder: what happens to the data?

Hart Owen told the outlet that she considers the surveillance technology a serious risk to privacy. “It’s really not great to have lists of gay people,” they said.

I can see the pros of it, like spotting a troublemaker. Suppose some "gay-bashers" are making the rounds harassing patrons. Yeah, I can see the benefit there, but only if I have answers to my questions. I would even like to see a sign posted stating their policies, if only to avoid things like this:

New York City’s main sports arena allegedly used facial recognition to stalk & ban a trans woman
She became an obsession for Madison Square Garden’s head of security.
LGBTQ Nation
Greg Owen 

April 22, 2026

 

 

 A transgender fan of the New York Knicks basketball team was tracked over a two-year period using sophisticated face recognition technology at Madison Square Garden (MSG), according to a lawsuit by a fired former security official who worked there. The woman was later banned from the venue.

The suit alleges that Nina Richards (not her real name) became a fixation for the head of security working for James Dolan, the owner of MSG, Radio City Music Hall, and the Sphere, among other venues that use the same surveillance technology. Dolan, scion of former cable TV titan Charles Dolan, also owns the Knicks and the New York Rangers hockey team.

See, this is where having answers to my questions is important:

The lawsuit’s allegation follows news in 2024 that Dolan added the faces of up to 1,500 lawyers involved in litigation against his companies to his facial recognition system at MSG, banning them from the property.

 

[...]

 

 Described by another security staffer as “a very large transgender woman, being a fan,” Eversole determined that Richards was a threat to players and the team’s image. He ordered her to be added MSG’s facial-recognition database and instructed staffers to perform an open source “work-up” on her, based on the images captured by their cameras and other intelligence gathered by security.

Eversole allegedly wanted to keep Richards “away from the players.”

Richards was targeted “because of her gender identity,” according to the suit filed by former MSG security staffer Donnie Ingrasselino.

We need rules with teeth, not just a slap on the wrist. Law enforcement should be required to obtain a search warrant that does not blindly allow database searches. Instead, they should need a specific warrant tied to a particular investigation, not a general warrant allowing them to sift through entire facial-recognition databases looking for matches.

Ownership of the data should rest with the towns, not with a private company that can sell access to the database.

This could lead us down the road to 1984.

So, what do you think?

 

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