Americans will soon be subjected to facial recognition screenings at airports as part of a new program that is quietly rolling out the technology in 400 locations across the United States.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is “in the early stages of integrating automated facial recognition capability” into current systems that scan travelers’ credentials, but will not be fully operational until 2030 or 2040.
The update, which aims to capture “minimum data”, will match the traveler’s face with their identification document, flight status and verification status, and the facial recognition system is already in use at 25 airports.
While the TSA touts the program as a way to “improve security effectiveness and efficiency,” U.S. government officials have called it “a precursor to a full-fledged national surveillance state.”
Americans will soon be subjected to facial recognition screenings at airports as part of a new program that is quietly rolling out the technology in 400 locations across the United States. The technology is at airport 25.
Speaking about its additional facial recognition measures, a TSA spokesperson told Dailymail.com that “the technology greatly improves the efficiency and effectiveness of security” and said it “improves the passenger experience.”
“The technology provides a significant security improvement, as identity verification is a lynchpin of transportation security,” he said.
For security reasons, TSA will not confirm which airports are in line to receive facial recognition screenings.
The program came to the attention of lawmakers in February of last year when the TSA began deploying facial recognition technology at certain U.S. airports.
“Passengers should not have to choose between security and privacy when traveling,” said Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) regarding TSA implementation.
‘The TSA program is a precursor to a full-fledged national surveillance state.
‘Nothing could be more harmful to our national values of privacy and freedom. No government should be entrusted with this power.”
in a letter to the TSA, members of the Senate demanded that it stop using facial recognition, claiming it “likely exacerbates racial discrimination” and could breach Americans’ security if biometric data fell into the hands of private corporations or unauthorized bad actors.
Congressional lawmakers took their concerns a step further in November by denouncing facial recognition screenings at airports and a bipartisan Traveler Privacy Protection Act proposal to prevent the TSA from collecting facial biometric data.
Facial recognition technology is already in airports across the country, but TSA expects the program to be fully implemented in 2030 or 2040.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is “in the early stages of integrating automated facial recognition capability” into current systems that scan travelers’ credentials.
“Every day, TSA scans the faces of thousands of Americans without their permission and without making it clear that travelers can opt out of the invasive screening,” said Senator John Kennedy (R-LA).
He continued: “Despite our repeated calls for the TSA to stop its unacceptable use of facial recognition technologies, the agency has continued to expand its use across the country.”
“Travelers should be able to fly without checking their right to privacy along with their luggage.”
If passed, the Traveler Privacy Protection Act would require the TSA to immediately stop its facial recognition program and delete all biometric data within three months.
While the TSA touts the program as a way to “improve security effectiveness and efficiency,” U.S. government officials have called it “a precursor to a full-fledged national surveillance state.”
Kennedy told Dailymail.com: “It is surprising that the TSA is expanding its invasive facial recognition program in the face of congressional concern,” adding that the agency “can bury its head in the sand and try to bulldoze our citizens, but its privacy concerns They’re not going to disappear.” .’
According to the TSA, facial recognition software will not store data used in the screening process nor will it be used for surveillance or law enforcement purposes.
A TSA official said Nextgov/FWC that the agency “is currently in the early stages of integrating automated facial recognition capability as an enhancement to credential authentication technology devices that had been deployed several years ago.”
Travelers will be notified that the airport uses facial recognition technology on signs posted at the entrance to the screening area and will be assured that it will not store or save the person’s data after a positive identification match.
TO TSA Fact Sheet He added that the only exception will be ‘in a limited testing environment to evaluate the effectiveness of the technology.’
Facial recognition technology is created using CAT scanners that take photos in real time and compare them to the person’s photo ID.
The system uses trained AI models to create a biometric template using the person’s facial features and compares it with facial features presented in another image.
The US government has no guidance, regulation or laws to leverage facial recognition technology, raising questions about human rights, privacy and civil liberties.
TSA reported Last year alone it handled a record number of more than 858 million passengers, representing an average of 2.4 million passengers per day.
