A Face Only an Attorney Could Love: Madison Square Garden’s Use of Facial Recognition Technology to Ban Lawyers With Pending Litigation

Michael Conklin & Brian Elzweig

In 2022, MSG Entertainment implemented an attorney ban at all of its venues. This policy banned all attorneys working at law firms that represent a plaintiff against MSG Entertainment, and it has been enforced through the implementation of facial recognition technology. The ban was widely criticized by the attorneys involved (some of whom filed suit against MSG Entertainment), politicians, and judges. Prominent Delaware Judge Kathaleen McCormick referred to MSG Entertainment’s practice as “the stupidest thing I’ve ever read” and “presumptively vindictive.” In November 2022, New York State Supreme Court Justice Lyle Frank explained, “[t]here appears to be no rational basis for the policy instituted by [MSG Entertainment] except to dissuade attorneys from bringing suit.”

This Article discusses the numerous issues the controversial attorney ban elicits, such as potential legal recourse under a variety of theories, discriminatory effects of facial recognition technology, psychological harm from living in a surveillance state, the risk of security breaches and intentional data disclosures from entities that maintain biometric identification data, and MSG Entertainment as a state actor. This Article provides a valuable framework for considering the legal and practical implications of biometric identification as well as corporate retaliation against law firms. Finally, the Article concludes by evaluating how the rapid adoption of biometric identification might affect society and the law in the near future.