Following a June 10 Gazetteer SF story about the presence of high-security data collection devices from a Calgary-based company called Patronscan in a number of Castro gay bars, digital rights group Fight for the Future is calling on Mix, Badlands, and Toad Hall to remove the technology from their businesses.
“We demand you immediately remove facial recognition systems like Patronscan, cancel your contracts with biometric surveillance suppliers, and commit to never again using biometric identification systems on patrons,” the petition reads. “We demand the immediate and complete deletion of identity databases in a method verifiable by outside investigators.”
Gazetteer previously reported that those three bars on 18th Street all use a Patronscan product called Guard+ to screen customers as they come through the door at peak hours. That product includes a forensic ID scanner, a camera, and a monitor. It allows bouncers to verify identities; track customer behaviors; and collect, store, and, in some cases, share bar-goers’ photos and personal data, including name, age, zip code, and gender.
One of the main selling points of Patronscan is access to local “flag networks,” or shared private databases of blacklisted customers that can be accessed by other businesses that use the Patronscan system. At least nine venues in the Castro are synced into the same flag network as Mix, Badlands, and Toad Hall, according to the dashboard on Mix’s Guard+, which one bouncer showed Gazetteer earlier this month.
The petition, which was released publicly yesterday, comes amid a week of backlash from local queer community members against the presence of surveillance technology in Castro bars. Several local sites and LGBTQ+ media outlets like Advocate, PinkNews, and GO published articles on the situation following our original story; these articles were widely shared online, raising concerns about increased surveillance in queer spaces in a political climate that is increasingly hostile to gay and trans people.
Flyers that say “You have the right to opt-out of biometric data collection at Castro bars” above a pink triangle — a historic resistance symbol — also appeared on telephone poles across the street from Toad Hall this week.
Brian Aranda, the director of operations at Badlands, said he is aware of the petition and that his team has spoken directly with Patronscan, who reassured him that the system “is not facial recognition technology and does not use biometric identification.” Badlands currently does not have plans to remove Patronscan technology from its operations.
“We continue to believe it provides important safety benefits for our guests and employees,” Aranda said.
Mix did not respond to our request for comment. Toad Hall could not be reached for comment.
In response to the public outcry, Patronscan released two statements on its website Tuesday.
The first, titled “Let’s Clear a Few Things Up: How Patronscan Actually Works,” claims Patronscan devices “do not save or share your home address on our Flag Network.” However, Patronscan’s privacy policy states “Patronscan may collect” several pieces of information on your ID, including “address.”
Patronscan spokesperson Rhiannon Mosoronchon told Gazetteer SF that the company only collects postal codes, but “can run a one-time comparison of the full address against publicly available information to confirm if it is a real address.”
Much of the outrage among the Castro community has centered on Patronscan’s collection of biometric data like photos and facial structure details, which have been used by other private surveillance operations to track and control the movements of individuals in retail and entertainment venues. In April, Wired exposed disturbing details about the surveillance network at Madison Square Garden, which MSG and New York Knicks owner Jim Dolan used to stalk and harass a trans Knicks fan, simply “because of her gender identity.” In 2022, reporting by the New York Times revealed how MSG barred any lawyers from law firms working on cases against the Dolans.
Surveillance in the name of safety “is often creating actual harms and risks for people, particularly those who are already hyper-surveilled, or who already have their identities making them vulnerable targets,” says Reem Suleiman, a campaign director for Fight for the Future.
“It’s really concerning to see gay bars in San Francisco employing similar technology that has that potential, even if they may not be doing that tracking. It’s incredibly dangerous, incredibly problematic,” she said.
Patronscan, whose parent company Servall Data Systems has also operated under the name Servall Biometrics, claimed “we do not use facial recognition or collect biometric data” in its public statement. Its privacy policy notes that its technology can collect facial images with “facial comparison features.”
“Facial comparison features are not enabled for North American customers and never have been,” Mosoronchon, the Patronscan spokesperson, said. “The live image captured at the time of the scan is a photograph taken so door staff can compare it against the photo on the ID.”
Suleiman remains unconvinced that this distinction neutralizes potential harm. “They’re playing semantics,” she told Gazetteer over text. “If they collect people’s photographs, that’s collecting biometric data.”
In 2023, Illinois residents filed a class action lawsuit against Patronscan for violating a statewide biometric privacy law by collecting “a scan of facial geometry” from concert attendees without first obtaining their consent. Patronscan settled out of court in 2024. The second public statement Patronscan published Tuesday addresses that case dispute.
Fight for the Future’s petition also urges gay bars and other queer businesses that do not currently use high-security surveillance technology to commit to keeping it out of their venues. As of Thursday morning, it has more than 1,200 signatures, Suleiman said.
