TSA rolls out facial recognition systems

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) this week began rolling out facial recognition systems in airports across the country to identify travelers.

In what is currently a voluntary testing pilot, a passenger at an airport can insert their driving license into a slot or passport onto a scanner and look into a camera about the size of an tablet. The camera will use an algorithm to analyze the passenger’s face and match it against their identification card.

As of now, the TSA says the systems are not in constant operation and are only triggered when an identification card is presented so that they are not always scanning faces. Passengers can choose to opt out of the service and have their ID checked by a TSA officer.

“What we are trying to do with this is aid the officers to actually determine that you are who you say who you are,” said Identity Management Capabilities Manager Jason Lim.

According to the Associated Press, the 16 airports affected are in Baltimore, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Jose, Mississippi and Reagan National near Washington, DC.

The TSA’s decision to install facial recognition systems did not receive everyone’s blessing. Even Democrat Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Marxist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) expressed their concern about the program in February.

“Increasing biometric surveillance of Americans by the government represents a risk to civil liberties and privacy rights,” they wrote in a letter along with three other senators to TSA Administrator David Pekoske.

“We are concerned about the safety and security of Americans’ biometric data in the hands of authorized private corporations or unauthorized bad actors,” the letter continued. “As government agencies grow their database of identifying images, increasingly large databases will prove more and more enticing targets for hackers and cybercriminals.”

The public, however, is unlikely to provide much pushback. According to a Pew survey, most Americans are in favor of law enforcement using facial recognition and think police should set the standard for how the technology is used. About 47% think the government will go too far in regulating the technology, while 51% think it will not go far enough. 

The US is also one of the later Western countries to roll out biometric scanning systems.

Israel, for instance, not only uses biometric scanners but also uses AI facial recognition systems which analyze passengers’ faces for law enforcement purposes. A secret algorithm — which Israel police have refused to disclose to courts — is then used to profile and detain passengers at the airport who have no criminal history and provide no cause for suspicion. Israeli courts have expressed concern about the artificial intelligence program which raises several legal issues.