The
Transportation
and
Security
Administration
plans
to
vastly
expand
its
use
of
facial
recognition
technology
in
the
U.S.,
going
from
25
airports
with
the
tech
to
over
430
by
this
July.
And
a
group
of
14
senators
from
both
parties
are
not
happy,
arguing
in
a
new
letter
that,
“this
powerful
surveillance
technology
as
deployed
by
TSA
does
not
make
air
travel
safer.”
The
senators,
led
by
Democratic
Sen.
Jeff
Merkley
of
Oregon,
are
looking
to
dial
back
TSA’s
use
of
facial
recognition
during
the
upcoming
congressional
reauthorization
of
the
Federal
Aviation
Administration,
something
that
happens
every
five
years.
The
current
authorization
expires
on
May
10.
As
the
Associated
Press
explains,
under
the
facial
recognition
program,
travelers
swipe
their
driver’s
license
or
passport
and
pose
for
a
photo
at
the
airport.
That
photo
is
then
compared
to
the
ID
in
an
effort
to
make
sure
the
person
flying
has
proper
identification.
Merkley and 13 other senators expressed their concern about the TSA facial recognition in a letter addressed to Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, and Mitch McConnell, the Republican senate minority leader from Kentucky.
“The
potential
for
misuse
of
this
technology
extends
far
beyond
airport
security
checkpoints,”
the
letter
reads.
“Once
Americans
become
accustomed
to
government
facial
recognition
scans,
it
will
be
that
much
easier
for
the
government
to
scan
citizens’
faces
everywhere,
from
entry
into
government
buildings,
to
passive
surveillance
on
public
property
like
parks,
schools,
and
sidewalks.”
The
letter
goes
on
to
cite
reports
that
these
TSA
facial
recognition
tools
have
a
relatively
high
error
rate,
which
doesn’t
actually
make
anyone
safer.
“In response to congressional inquiries, TSA has not produced evidence that more false identification documents have been discovered since their implementation of facial recognition,” the letter says.
“The 3% error rate cited by TSA represents more than 68,000 mismatches daily if used on all 2.3 million daily travelers. [41 Recent news reports that hundreds of passengers have bypassed TSA security checkpoints entirely in recent years suggest that TSA should focus on the fundamentals, not expanding its facial recognition program,” the letter continues.
The bipartisan group that signed the letter:
Jeff Merkley (D-OR) John Kennedy (R-LA) Ed Markey (D-MA) Roger Marshall (R-KS) Kevin Cramer (R-ND) Ron Wyden (D-OR) Steve Daines (R-MT) Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) Mike Braun (R-IN) Bernie Sanders (I-VT) Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) Peter Welch (D-VT) Laphonza Butler (D-CA)
The
FAA
reauthorization
bill
as
it
stands
now
currently
allocates
$105
billion
in
appropriations
to
the
FAA
and
$738
million
to
the
NTSB,
according
to
CNN.
The
facial
recognition
tech
at
airports
has
seen
a
steady
rise,
with
just
16
airports
deploying
the
tech
in
late
2022,
rising
to
25
airports
today
and
430
by
this
summer.
But
it
remains
to
be
seen
whether
pushback
from
these
senators
will
have
an
impact.
And
they’re
clearly
worried
about
where
this
is
all
heading
when
facial
recognition
is
being
used
in
a
domestic
security
setting.
“While TSA states the program is optional, it is the stated intent of the TSA to expand this technology beyond the security checkpoint and require that passengers undergo facial recognition scans every time they travel,” the letter reads.
When you subscribe to the blog, we will send you an e-mail when there are new updates on the site so you wouldn't miss them.
Comments