The New York attorney-general is probing allegations that the house owners of Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden enviornment used facial recognition expertise to bar legal professionals concerned in litigation in opposition to the leisure firm from attending occasions.

In a letter despatched on Tuesday to MSG Entertainment, which additionally owns Radio City Music Hall, the workplace of Letitia James mentioned it had reviewed reviews suggesting that hundreds of legal professionals throughout 90 companies had been banned from the corporate’s websites, violating civil rights regulation.

“MSG Entertainment cannot fight their legal battles in their own arenas,” mentioned James, whose workplace additionally raised issues that the expertise may discriminate in opposition to minorities. “Anyone with a ticket to an event should not be concerned that they may be wrongfully denied entry based on their appearance, and we’re urging MSG Entertainment to reverse this policy.”

MSG Entertainment didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Last yr, New York lawyer Larry Hutcher sued MSG in state court docket, alleging that the corporate had revoked his basketball season ticket and banned him from a number of venues after he started representing ticket resellers in a separate case in opposition to the enterprise.

Several different attorneys concerned in litigation in opposition to MSG advised a Delaware court docket in November that they too had acquired letters barring them from MSG venues — a coverage the decide in that case referred to as “the stupidest thing I’ve ever read”.

Gregory Varallo, a lawyer in that case, advised the court docket that MSG “used facial recognition software to come in and scrape all the web pages of all the firms involved and then used that facial recognition software at the Garden and other venues”.

He went on to mock “the idea that I’ve been found out — that my evil plan to go to the Garden and talk to the pretzel vendor about litigation strategy has been uncovered”, in accordance with a transcript of the proceedings.

The transfer by the New York attorney-general got here days after state senators launched a invoice designed to shut a authorized loophole and prohibit “wrongful refusal of entry” at sporting occasions.

“MSG’s use of facial recognition technology . . . is an unacceptable invasion of the privacy of all their patrons, and a blatant attempt to intimidate and bully those who might want to pursue their day in court against the company,” state senator Liz Krueger mentioned on Monday.

“It is absolutely time for the city and the state to reconsider any and all permits, licenses and benefits provided to MSG in the face of their continued malfeasance.”

Senators additionally claimed MSG rescinded a neighborhood meeting member’s invitation to an MSG occasion after he attended a press convention over their use of facial recognition.