Three Castro neighborhood bars serving a primarily queer clientele are using facial-recognition cameras to help "verify guests" and check for fake IDs, but the company providing these cameras also can flag known criminals and sex offenders, and help track neighborhood ne'er-do-wells who have been 86 'd elsewhere.Some may find it reassuring, from a safety perspective, while others will surely find it perturbing that several Castro bars are deploying facial-recognition cameras and recording biometric data on patrons as they walk in the door.The story, which has since been picked up by the Advocate, was first reported by Gazetteer SF, and it seems that the first Castro bar to use the cameras was Badlands, starting sometime last year. Toad Hall across the street, which has long been owned by the same owner as Badlands, Les Natali — but Badlands is now under a different ownership structure — is also now using the cameras, as is The Mix down the street.Badlands and Toad Hall are among the largest bar/clubs in the neighborhood, both offering dance floors and DJs, and both regularly have lines outside on weekends.Patrons mostly aren't told they're being photographed, though small placards alert the to the surveillance, if they care to read them. As Gazetteer reported, the technology comes from a company calls Patronscan, which provides these TSA-like kiosks that guarantee "99.9% age verification accuracy."Among the businesses that Patronscan claims as clients are Caesar's, the casino chain, and Taco Bell Cantina.The Patronscan website refers to the fact that the kiosks can also alert bouncers to patrons who appear on so-called "flag networks," meaning that they've been flagged by other businesses in the area as problem guests. Gazeteer reports that a flag network in the Castro has at least nine bars connected to it, not just the three with these cameras.The management of Badlands, Toad Hall, and The Mix haven't offered any comment, and likely just want this to be a nonstory.For a doorperson at Midnight Sun, across the street from The Mix, such a camera might have helped in a recent alleged assault situation involving a patron who may have been on that "flag network." That suspect has been identified and arrested, however that arrest likely took longer as a result of their not being surveillance of the incident, or a Patronscan flag at the door.Patronscan, for their part, has reportedly been the subject of a class-action lawsuit in Illinois, where state law prohibits the collection of biometric data without consent. San Francisco prohibits the collection of such data by city agencies, but not by private businesses.Related: Daly City Man Accused In at Least Two Violent Incidents Arrested for Alleged Battery of Castro Bar Doorperson ...read more read less