SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 Two prominent gay bars in San Francisco\u2019s Castro District have halted their use of artificial intelligence-powered facial scanning technology following mounting opposition from LGBTQ+ advocates, musicians and digital rights groups warning that the technology poses serious privacy and discrimination risks.<\/p>\n
Badlands and Toad Hall announced they were immediately pausing their use of Patronscan, an ID verification and facial scanning system, after Fight for the Future organized a campaign urging artists and patrons to boycott venues using invasive surveillance technology.<\/p>\n
The reversal represents a significant victory for privacy advocates who argue that facial recognition systems are particularly dangerous when deployed in LGBTQ+ spaces at a time when queer and transgender people face heightened political scrutiny and threats to their civil liberties.<\/p>\n
The decision was first reported by Gazetteer SF after the publication reported that hundreds of musicians and artists had pledged to avoid venues employing facial recognition and similar surveillance systems. <\/p>\n
According to Gazetteer SF, more than 300 artists nationwide had joined the campaign, including Tune-Yards, Deerhoof and other Bay Area musicians. The campaign was organized by Fight for the Future, a digital rights organization that has pushed venues and performers to reject facial recognition technology. <\/p>\n
Shortly after Gazetteer SF published its report on the campaign, Badlands and Toad Hall announced they would stop using Patronscan while reviewing their security procedures.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have heard the concerns regarding the use of PatronScan at Badlands and Toad Hall in San Francisco, and we are listening,\u201d Brian Aranda, director of operations at both bars, said in a statement obtained by Gazetteer SF. \u201cEffective immediately, we are pausing the use of PatronScan while we review our ID verification and security practices.\u201d <\/p>\n
Aranda said the bars would return to traditional identification checks while that review takes place.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur security teams will continue to thoroughly check IDs manually during this time,\u201d Aranda said. \u201cWe appreciate everyone who has shared their concerns and remain committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for all.\u201d <\/p>\n
The announcement marked a sharp reversal for Badlands. Gazetteer SF reported that the bar\u2019s director of operations said in June that the venue intended to continue using Patronscan despite concerns about the technology. <\/p>\n
Fight for the Future\u2019s campaign asks performers to require venues to disable facial recognition and other invasive surveillance technology during their appearances or refuse to perform at venues that will not comply.<\/p>\n
The campaign has gained momentum following reporting about the expanding use of facial recognition and other surveillance systems at bars, concert venues and entertainment facilities.<\/p>\n
Reem Suleiman, a campaign director for Fight for the Future, told Gazetteer SF that 342 artists had signed the organization\u2019s pledge nationwide, with more than half joining during the previous two months. <\/p>\n
The organization has placed particular emphasis on the Bay Area, including venues in the Castro, because of concerns about deploying facial recognition systems inside spaces historically associated with LGBTQ+ safety, organizing and community life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is something really powerful and symbolic and scary about the fact that these are bars in the Castro,\u201d Suleiman told Gazetteer SF. \u201cThe queer community has been on the receiving end of the worst of what surveillance can do.\u201d <\/p>\n
Fight for the Future Director Evan Greer, a transgender musician and longtime digital rights advocate, said the decision by Badlands and Toad Hall demonstrated that organized pressure could force businesses to reconsider the use of surveillance technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cAI surveillance technology is creepy for anyone going to a show or a club, but it\u2019s particularly dangerous for members of the LGBTQ+ community who are facing increased attacks on our rights and safety,\u201d Greer said.<\/p>\n
Greer said LGBTQ+ patrons should not have to surrender biometric information simply to participate in community spaces.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe backlash from the community has been swift and severe,\u201d Greer said. \u201cQueer and trans people want to be able to dance and gather and party without fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greer said the campaign would continue despite the decisions by Badlands and Toad Hall.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur boycott campaign has already pushed two of the most prominent venues using this stalker-tech to abandon it,\u201d Greer said. \u201cWe won\u2019t stop until gay bars across the country commit to never using this type of invasive and discriminatory surveillance tech at the door.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Fight for the Future and the Club 1984 project created by AI Action Now, other San Francisco venues continued to use the technology following the decisions by Badlands and Toad Hall. The San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday that Mix, Oracle Park and 1015 Folsom remained among locations using face-scanning technology. <\/p>\n
Other venues have moved in the opposite direction by pledging not to deploy such surveillance. Gazetteer SF reported that San Francisco venues including DNA Lounge, Cheaper than Therapy and El Rio have joined a pledge against using the technology. <\/p>\n
The dispute comes amid broader concerns about the spread of privately operated facial recognition systems and the lack of legal restrictions governing how corporations collect and use biometric information.<\/p>\n
The Vanguard previously reported on those concerns after revelations that Madison Square Garden Entertainment maintained an internal database containing information about LGBTQ+ celebrities, activists and critics while the company also deployed facial recognition technology at its venues.<\/p>\n
That database included Greer, who was identified internally as a facial recognition activist. Greer told the Vanguard at the time that the larger issue extended beyond the actions of a single entertainment company. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think what it illuminates for folks is that we think of surveillance as something that the government does,\u201d Greer told the Vanguard. \u201cAnd increasingly we\u2019re heading into a future where in fact, private companies and even wealthy individuals are building surveillance capabilities that rival some nation states.\u201d <\/p>\n
Greer warned that private surveillance can be particularly troubling because corporations and wealthy individuals face fewer restrictions than government agencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are actually far fewer regulations and rules in place that govern how those private companies and individuals can use surveillance technologies,\u201d Greer said. (<\/p>\n
The controversy surrounding Patronscan illustrates how those concerns are moving from major arenas and entertainment corporations into neighborhood businesses and nightlife spaces.<\/p>\n
Facial recognition systems generally work by capturing a person\u2019s image and comparing biometric characteristics of the face against stored images or databases. Privacy and civil rights organizations have repeatedly raised concerns about how those systems store information, who can access it, how long data remains available and whether patrons meaningfully consent to having biometric information collected.<\/p>\n
Those concerns become particularly significant in LGBTQ+ venues because biometric surveillance can potentially create records documenting who enters spaces associated with sexual orientation, gender identity or political activity.<\/p>\n
The technology has also faced criticism over racial disparities in facial recognition accuracy, particularly when identifying Black and brown people. The Chronicle noted that consumer technology advocacy groups have repeatedly raised concerns about the accuracy of facial recognition systems for people of color. (San Francisco Chronicle<\/a>)<\/p>\n For Fight for the Future, the decisions by Badlands and Toad Hall demonstrate that the expansion of private surveillance technology is not inevitable.<\/p>\n Instead, the organization is seeking to make facial recognition socially and economically unacceptable in spaces where people gather for music, nightlife and community \u2014 particularly venues serving populations that historically have been subjected to government and private surveillance.<\/p>\n The organization said it intends to continue pressuring bars, concert venues and other places of public accommodation to reject facial recognition and similar AI-powered surveillance systems.<\/p>\n The retreat by two of the Castro\u2019s most recognizable gay bars provides an early test of that strategy: turning concerns about privacy and civil liberties into direct economic pressure on businesses that deploy the technology.<\/p>\n For LGBTQ+ advocates, the dispute also raises a broader question about what constitutes a safe community space in an era when increasingly powerful surveillance tools are becoming inexpensive and accessible to private businesses.<\/p>\n As Greer told the Vanguard in its earlier reporting, the central issue ultimately extends beyond the intentions of any individual business.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the bigger question here is what are we going to do as a society to put some rules in place so that wealthy and powerful individuals and companies can\u2019t leverage their surveillance capabilities to suppress dissent, to discriminate against marginalized communities, or to otherwise consolidate their power and undermine our democratic institutions that are supposed to hold the powerful to account?\u201d <\/p>\n To comment please go to one of these social media platforms:<\/p>\n Facebook: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DavisVanguard<\/a><\/p>\n LinkedIn: https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/peoples-vanguard-of-davis-inc\/<\/a><\/p>\n Instagram: https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/davisvanguard\/<\/a><\/p>\n X: https:\/\/x.com\/davisvanguard<\/a><\/p>\n Bluesky: https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/vanguardnewsgroup.bsky.social<\/a><\/p>\n Subscribe <\/a>to the Vanguard News letters.\u00a0 To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit davisvanguard.org\/donate<\/a> or give directly through ActBlue<\/a>.\u00a0 Your support will ensure that the vital work of the Vanguard continues.<\/p>\n Categories: Breaking News<\/a> Civil Rights<\/a> San Francisco<\/a> Tags: artificial intelligence<\/a> corporate surveillance<\/a> digital privacy<\/a> Facial Recognition<\/a> LGBTQ+ rights<\/a> San Francisco<\/a>