Famed California bars forced to boot draconian surveillance system after privacy backlash

Two famed San Francisco gay bars, Badlands and Toad Hall, are abandoning the AI-powered facial recognition platform PatronScan after a privacy backlash and boycott campaign led by advocacy group Fight for the Future. The bars announced they are pausing use of PatronScan's Guard+ product effective immediately, while their security teams manually check IDs. Fight for the Future, joined by musicians including Zack de la Rocha and Tom Morello, celebrated the decision as a victory, and only three San Francisco venues—Mix, Oracle Park, and 1015 Folsom—still use face-scanning technology, according to AI Action's Club 1984 website.

Famed California bars forced to boot draconian surveillance system after privacy backlash See more of our coverage in your search results. Add The California Post on Google https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=nypost.com Two famed San Francisco gay bars https://nypost.com/2026/07/23/us-news/illegal-stud-alley-pride-party-ends-with-18-people-charged/ are abandoning a facial recognition technology https://nypost.com/2025/08/09/tech/nyc-company-swaps-time-clocks-for-facial-recognition-tech/ after furious locals launched a boycott over breach of privacy. Badlands and Toad Hall said they would stop using the AI-powered platform PatronScan, which is meant to verify IDs and ages and flag problem patrons across all venues, after learning about the campaign. “Effective immediately, we are pausing the use of PatronScan while we review our ID verification and security practices,” the post https://www.instagram.com/p/DbwMnfky5Wk/ read. “The safety of our guests and staff remains a priority, as do privacy and trust. Our security teams will continue to thoroughly check IDs manually during this time.” Badlands https://www.instagram.com/badlandssf/?hl=en , a mainstay in SF’s Castro District, reopened https://sf.eater.com/2023/10/6/23906330/castro-lgbtq-bar-badlands-reopens after the pandemic and offers affordable cocktails and Top 40 hits. Meanwhile, Toad Hall https://dothebay.com/venues/toad-hall is a bar with much LGBTQIA+ history https://www.sfgayhistory.com/neighborhoods/castro/castro-gay-bars/toad-hall/ behind it. Both came under scrutiny in June after the Gazetteer SF first reported https://sf.gazetteer.co/why-do-these-castro-gay-bars-have-tsa-style-face-scanners that they were using PatronScan’s Guard+ product. The move is seen as a win for privacy advocates. Fight for the Future — the advocacy group behind a campaign https://www.banfacialrecognition.com/venues/ that was joined by Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha and Tom Morello https://x.com/tmorello/status/1171133213403746305?ref src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1171133213403746305%7Ctwgr%5Ed61b30c571d76f44f5fde6f6e549d7e84000c3c6%7Ctwcon%5Es1 &ref url=https%3A%2F%2Ffestivals.banfacialrecognition.com%2F , The Coup’s Boots Riley and dozens https://www.banfacialrecognition.com/venues/ of other https://festivals.banfacialrecognition.com/ high-profile musicians — celebrated the local venues’ decision as a victory. “When we fight we WIN ” read a post https://www.instagram.com/p/DbwmKdTjfB4/?img index=1 on Instagram from Fight for the Future. “And we’re going to keep fighting until dangerous AI surveillance tech is banned at as many bars and venues across the country as possible.” There are currently only three San Francisco bars — Mix, Oracle Park and 1015 Folsom — still using face-scanning technology, per AI Action https://aiactionnow.org/ ’s Club 1984 https://club-1984.com/ website. All this comes after Madison Square Garden’s use of facial recognition technology https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/22/nyregion/madison-square-garden-facial-recognition.html to assemble an “exclusion list” led to lawsuits in 2022. Grocery Outlet stores in the Bay Area also began using facial recognition software to identify shoplifters in July, the San Francisco Chronicle reported https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/grocery-outlet-bay-area-facial-id-shoplifting-22343639.php . Multiple consumer tech advocacy groups have raised issues https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/10/resisting-menace-face-recognition about facial recognition tech’s accuracy, especially when it comes to identifying Black and brown people. Plenty of music festivals https://festivals.banfacialrecognition.com/ have also signed a campaign pledge against using the technology. But events like Outside Lands and the iHeartRadio Music Festival have decided not to participate. Evan Greer, director of Fight for the Future and a transgender musician, said in a statement that the use of the AI software is especially problematic for more vulnerable communities. “Queer and trans people want to be able to dance and gather and party without fear,” Greer said in a press release https://www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2026-08-07-breaking-facing-boycott-campaign-sf-gay-bars-abandon-ai-face-scanners/ . “We won’t stop until gay bars across the country commit to never using this type of invasive and discriminatory surveillance tech at the door.” Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters California Post News : Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheCaliforniaPost/ , Instagram https://www.instagram.com/californiapost , TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@CaliforniaPost , X https://x.com/californiapost , YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@thecaliforniapost , WhatsApp https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb6a2IV1NCrL6q2AWq0E , LinkedIn http://linkedin.com/company/californiapost California Post Sports Facebook https://www.facebook.com/capostsports/ , Instagram https://www.instagram.com/capostsports/?hl=en , TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@capostsports , YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@CaliforniaPostSports , X https://x.com/capostsports California Post Opinion https://x.com/californiapost California Post Newsletters : Sign up here https://email.nypost.com/ california-post California Post App : Download here https://apps.apple.com/us/app/california-post/id6751343487 Home delivery : Sign up here https://subscribe.californiapost.com/defaultCAP Page Six Hollywood : Sign up here https://pagesix.com/hollywood-signup/