America’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is planning to expand its facial recognition program to 430 domestic airports in the United States. The program, which is currently being piloted at 25 airports, uses Idemia’s biometric technology to scan passengers’ faces and verify their identity.
The TSA says that the program has boosted identity verification efficiency without infringing on travelers’ privacy rights. However, some privacy and civil rights organizations have criticized the program, arguing that it amounts to large-scale surveillance.
One of such is the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has urged Congress to suspend the TSA’s use of facial-recognition technology. EPIC argues that the program is “a massive surveillance program that poses serious risks to privacy and civil liberties.”
The TSA has defended the program, saying that it is “about transportation security.” The agency says that the program helps to detect fake IDs, verify that passengers are who they say they are, and ensure that passengers are not on a list to receive additional screening.
The TSA has not specified a timetable for expanding the programme, although it is anticipated that it will take less than ten years to reach 430 airports. The experimental programmes at 25 airports, according to Carter Langston, a TSA press secretary, are improving identification verification.
According to Langston, the programme also guarantees that the person in the ID photo is the same person at the TSA podium and that they will be travelling within the next 24 hours. The programmes also identify whether individuals have PreCheck or regular screening status, or whether extra screening with decreased wait times is required.
The sources for this piece include an article in TheRegister.
