In this article, we will discuss a bipartisan bill aimed at preventing the Transportation Security Administration from using facial recognition screening technology in airports, due to the misuse of this technology and the unawareness of most travelers regarding their option to opt out of the screening.
Main Facts
The Transportation Security Administration uses CAT-2 technology to verify a traveler’s identity before they enter the physical security screening process at some airports, and according to the agency, biometric data is not used for surveillance or law enforcement purposes.
Under the proposed bill, titled “2023 Travelers Privacy Protection Act,” the Transportation Security Administration will be required to terminate its facial recognition pilot program and will need congressional approval to use this technology, according to a press release from Kennedy’s office.
The Transportation Security Administration will also be immediately prohibited from expanding its facial recognition program and will be required to delete facial biometric information, including photos and videos obtained through this technology.
Kennedy stated that the law “will protect every American from Big Brother’s intrusion by ending the facial recognition program,” and Merkley described the program as “a precursor to a full national surveillance state.”
Supporting the bill are Senator Roger Marshall (Republican from Kansas), Elizabeth Warren (Democrat from Massachusetts), Edward Markey (Democrat from Massachusetts), and Bernie Sanders (Independent from Vermont).
The Transportation Security Administration declined to comment.
Main Background
In June, a spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration told Fast Company that the agency plans to expand its facial recognition program to about 430 airports in the future. The facial matching program being piloted at 25 airports at that time was reported as 97% effective “across demographic categories, including darker skin tones,” according to Transportation Security Administration spokesman Robert Langston. The Transportation Security Administration has been using facial recognition technology since 2020, according to CBS News. Travelers’ images are not stored or retained after a positive identity match, according to the Transportation Security Administration. However, the Transportation Security Administration stated that some images are retained “in a limited test environment to assess the technology’s effectiveness.”
Key Critics
In February, Merkley joined Markey, Warren, Sanders, and Cory Booker (Democrat from New Jersey) in a letter to Transportation Security Administration Director David Pekoske, calling for an immediate halt to the use of facial recognition technology. The senators pointed to “the racial discrimination that this technology may exacerbate” and presented a study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology that found Asian and Black people were over 100 times more likely to be misidentified by facial recognition compared to white males. The senators also expressed concern about the safety and security of Americans’ biometric data, which could be shared with authorized private companies or “unauthorized bad actors,” similar to the 2019 incident when stored traveler images were stolen from the Department of Homeland Security in a data breach. The senators stated that the widespread deployment of facial recognition technology by the Transportation Security Administration posed a threat to human rights “without sufficient evidence that the technology is effective on people with darker skin tones and does not violate Americans’ privacy rights.” In response to an online survey from the Algorithmic Justice League regarding travelers’ experiences with facial recognition technology, which was shared exclusively with Fast Company, one participant said they were unaware there was an option to opt out of screening and that it “did not seem like there was a choice.”
Note
Side Notes
In January, the Transportation Security Administration launched an investigation into a “potential cybersecurity incident” after hackers claimed they had access to an old version of the no-fly list from 2019, according to a CNN report. The hackers, who describe themselves as cybersecurity researchers based in Switzerland, told CNN that the no-fly list of known or suspected terrorists was available online on an unsecured computer server hosted by a regional airline in Ohio.
Looking Ahead
Exclusive: The Transportation Security Administration plans to expand its facial recognition program to over 400 airports (Fast Company)
The Secret History of Facial Recognition (Wired Magazine)
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