Recent reports have raised alarm about the use of PatronScan, an ID-checking and face-scanning system, at multiple LGBTQ+ bars in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood. Much of the attention has focused on reports that the system photographs patrons as they enter venues and questions about whether those images are used for facial recognition
The insurance industry has been pushing for them for decades. It’s not just about LGBQT people. As someone who has been a bouncer for over a decade, it’s kind of a necessary evil if we want to have clubs/bars/venues at all (in this day and age, in this culture).
The system scans your ID and matches it with security footage from in the venue. This is effectively the only way to consistently enforce bans in a larger venue with a multi-person security team.
Arguably the only gripe one can make privacy wise is the collection/storage of gov’t ID. As obviously venues have security cameras and can assign that footage to patrons as they see fit (like liquor stores do with thieves).
While I encourage people to avoid such venues, please don’t hold the owners directly accountable as they may not have had a choice.
edit: Every time I get downvoted for simply stating facts lemmings don’t like I’m reminded that taking y’all seriously is a waste of time.
Imo it is best to not take downvotes seriously as people don’t put thought into them beyond “this comment seems to contradict my opinion” and they also don’t really affect anything, the best solution is to disable them from showing up in the settings and consider the thoughts of people bothering to write a response instead.
disable them from showing up in the settings
Hell ya thank you.
If I could I would turn off inbox notifications cuz I know which comments are going to attract the idiots before I post them.
So a polaroid picture of the banned person being posted where the IDs are being checked is too complicated then?
too complicated
It’s not scaleable.
Imagine trying to rely on that system in a club of >500 patrons with 15 security guards and 2 entrances?
Imagine waiting in line to get in while they check every single face against a wall of 100+ photos
Also at what point is this trouble maker going to sit nicely so I can get a recognizable photo in a dark room with smoke strobe lights?
Lets say I ban a guy mid-shift. How do I communicate that to the rest of the security team? Leave my door to show everyone the photo? Have everyone else leave their post to check the wall?
What you’re saying works, it just doesn’t scale.
Malice? Ignorance? Plenty of both to go around.
The morning after we chatted in the Castro, [25-year-old data analyst Ben] Gonzalez told me over Instagram DM that he was unaware Mix could share patron data with neighboring businesses but did not see a problem with it. “I think it’s cute that they share it amongst other bars,” he wrote. “It’s like a little cybersecurity community .”
https://sf.gazetteer.co/why-do-these-castro-gay-bars-have-tsa-style-face-scanners
mostly first. most gay bars are run by straight businesses men. just like most landlords are banks. just because your clientele belongs to a specific group or caste, doesn’t mean you must belong to them…
why this distinction is important is precisely why this comparison is more accurate than you realise. both of these will sell you out of everything for financial gain… and with ICE, it’s coming.
