Three San Francisco bars drop ID-verification cameras following privacy concerns
Several bars in the Castro district have paused or limited use of PatronScan, a digital identity verification system including a scanner and camera.
'The Mix' will no longer use PatronScan cameras, but will continue using scanners for age and identity verification, according to workers.
On Aug. 7, Badlands and Toad Hall announced it would pause its use of PatronScan and would check IDs manually.
"We have heard the concerns regarding the use of PatronScan at Badlands and Toad Hall in San Francisco, and we are listening," a social media post by Badlands stated on August 7. "We appreciate everyone who has shared their concern and remain committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for all."
PatronScan has stated repeatedly it does not use facial recognition, does not collect biometric and does not share or sell personal information to third parties.
"Our venues in The Castro represent a community that has fought hard for the right to exist freely and joyfully. We want to help protect that. That's why we're here," PatronScan stated on its website.
Founded in 2005, the Canadian-based company states it has processed more than 500 million scans and caught over 10,893,142 fake ID's across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
On June 25, digital rights group 'Fight for the Future' announced a boycott campaign against The Mix, Badlands, and Toad Hall.
On Monday, Castro bar patron Tez Anderson said he has not gone to any bars where PatronScan is active.
"Maybe I sound like a paranoid fool, but I just don't trust why [any] bar needs that kind-of security when nobody else in the city ever needed that," he said.
At 'The Mix' on Monday, regular Siobhan Boland said she has had no issues using PatronScan.
"Once I got a better understanding about what it's meant to accomplish and how it takes care of a community, I was 100% behind it," Boland said. "I think the regulars who are here, who I would like to think sustain the business fairly well, are people who understand its function and that it's for everyone's good."
Secure Justice, a Bay Area privacy rights group, joined the campaign led by Fight for the Future. The group was also part of the 2019 effort to ban facial recognition use by San Francisco law enforcement.
"The need for this particular technology to solve this perceived problem, it just never really smelled right. To me, it just seemed more like a data-harvesting program, which is what a lot of surveillance technology really is. They're just trying to monetize data and sell it for a different purpose," Brian Hofer, the executive director of Secure Justice, said.
Since 2019, in Sacramento, PatronScan has been commonly used at bars due to a city ordinance requiring certain entertainment venues to use ID-scanning technology.
"It really is due to public opposition," Hofer said when asked about wider acceptance of PatronScan in Sacramento. "There's a lot of activists and concerned individuals in the Bay Area that are going to speak their mind when they're uncomfortable or in opposition to something. And that's what happened here. People spoke up, they used their voice, and that public pressure led to these results."
