For Taylor Swift, Madison Square Garden’s Controversial Cameras Briefly Went Dark
During Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding events at Madison Square Garden, the venue reportedly disabled its surveillance and facial recognition systems. The move was made at the request of the clients to ensure privacy for the high-profile guests.
Why it matters
The incident raises questions about the selective use of biometric surveillance in private venues and the influence of high-profile clients on security protocols.
On the night of July 2, security in and around the Garden was particularly intense. Roughly 130 cops were deployed to the area. New York City officials were preparing to shut down the surrounding blocks to both vehicles and pedestrians the next day for a major, major event.
July 2 was, of course, the kickoff to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding celebration, an approximately 100-person rehearsal dinner at Madison Square Garden’s Infosys Theater. And yet, on that extremely sensitive evening, Dolan’s MSG locked nearly all of its security team out of the network of surveillance cameras inside the arena, according to an internal document reviewed by WIRED. The move functionally prevented MSG security from fully operating the venue’s controversial face-recognition program that evening, two sources familiar with the Garden’s operations say.
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