“The San Francisco Giants are one of four Major League Baseball teams this season offering fans a free shortcut through the gate to their ballpark,” SFGate writes.
“What does it cost? Sign up for the league's 'facial recognition' software through the ticketing app.”
The Giants are taking advantage of MLB's new go-ahead entry program, which is intended to reduce wait times for fans entering games. The pitch is simple. Take a selfie in the MLB Ballpark app (your ticket is already registered), upload it, and once approved, walk through the ticket line and enter the ballpark. Fans rarely have to slowly make their way to their seats at the gate…
The Philadelphia Phillies became MLB's technology test team in 2023. In 2024, the Giants, Nationals and Astros will join…
[Major League Baseball] It says it doesn't store or store photos of people's faces in its database, and it's clear that it prefers the technology not be called facial recognition. “This is not the type of facial recognition that scans a crowd and identifies certain types of people,” MLB senior vice president Kari Zaremba told ESPN. “It's facial recognition. … That's the only way to use it.”
Privacy advocates “point out that the creep of facial recognition technology may be alarming,” the article acknowledges. However, it added that use of this technology remains completely voluntary.
They also spoke with the San Francisco Giants' senior vice president of ticket sales, who discussed the possibility of app users “entering the stadium without taking out their phones, or all four of them not taking out their phones.” He spoke passionately.
