Why Are Gay Bars Building Databases of Their Patrons?
www.eff.org
Recent reports have raised alarm about the use of PatronScan, an ID-checking and face-scanning system, at multiple LGBTQ+ bars in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood. For venues serving vulnerable communities, the stakes of using this technology are high.

Bars should stop using ID scanners that share information, return to standard ID checks, and prove to their customers that their privacy and security still matters. eff.org/deeplinks/2026/07/why-