Stadiums Are Embracing Face Recognition. Privacy Advocates Say They Should Stick to Sports

Thousands of people lined up outside Citi Field in Queens, New York, on Wednesday to watch the Mets face off with the Orioles. But outside the ticketing booth, a handful of protesters handed out flyers. They were there to protest a recent Major League Baseball program, one that’s increasingly common in professional sports: using facial recognition on fans.

Facial recognition companies and their customers argue that these systems save time, and therefore money, by shortening lines at stadium entrances. However, skeptics argue that the surveillance tools are never totally secure, make it easier for police to get information about fans, and fuel “mission creep” where surveillance technology becomes more common or even required.

The MLB’s facial recognition program, dubbed Go-Ahead Entry, lets participating fans go on a separate security line, usually shorter than the other queues. Fans download the MLB Ballpark app, submit a selfie, and have their face matched at an in-person camera kiosk at a stadium’s entrance.

Six MLB teams are participating in Go-Ahead Entry, including the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, and Washington Nationals.

Some MLB teams, including the Mets, have their own facial recognition programs for express entry. The Mets have been using the facial recognition company Wicket for its Mets Entry Express program since 2021. The Cleveland Guardians, similarly, have been using technology from the company Clear at its ballpark, Progressive Field, since 2019.

Jeff Boehm, Wicket’s chief operating officer, tells WIRED in an email that the company believes in “the responsible use of biometric technology to improve the event experience,” which includes taking “data security and privacy very seriously.”

Boehm adds: “As with many new technologies, there is misinformation out there about how the technology is being used. Contrary to some of these claims, Wicket’s use is always 100% opt-in (and users can opt-out at any time) and we are not scanning people’s faces without their consent. The data is not shared or sold to any third parties.”

Neither the Mets nor MLB immediately responded to WIRED’s requests for comment.

The National Football League has also started using Wicket facial recognition for express entry. NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said in an X post that the league-wide program, at least currently, is only available to “team/game-day personnel, vendors, and media”—not fans. The Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans, however, do have facial recognition entry systems that fans can use. (The news of the NFL’s expanded use of face recognition still caused confusion on Facebook and X, where some people thought facial recognition would be required at the stadiums for all 32 NFL teams.)

At Citi Field on Wednesday, the Mets Entry Express Line was used scarcely, perhaps five people every five minutes or so. There was never a line. The main security lines, though longer in comparison, took only about five minutes.

A group of privacy advocates stand outside Citi Field on Wednesday to warn fans about the growing use of facial recognition systems at sports events.Photograph: Caroline Haskins