The Transportation Security Administration plans to significantly expand its use. facial recognition technology The number of U.S. airports implementing the technology will increase from 25 to more than 430 by this July. A group of 14 senators from both parties is also dissatisfied, arguing in a new letter that „this powerful surveillance technology deployed by the TSA does nothing to make air travel safer.“ ing.
Senators led by Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon are considering rolling back the TSA's use of facial recognition during Congress's five-year reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration. There is. The current authorization expires on May 10th.
as Associated Press It explains that 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 her ID to ensure the person flying has proper identification.
Merkley and 13 other senators expressed concerns about TSA facial recognition in the letter It was addressed to Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
„The potential for misuse of this technology extends far beyond airport security checkpoints,“ the letter said. „Once Americans get used to government facial recognition scanning, the government will scan people's faces everywhere, from entering government buildings to passively monitoring public facilities like parks, schools, and sidewalks. It will be much easier.”
The letter goes on to cite reports that these TSA facial recognition tools have relatively high error rates and do not actually make anyone safer.
„In response to the Congressional investigation, TSA has not provided evidence that additional false identification documents have been discovered since the introduction of facial recognition,“ the letter said.
“The 3% error rate cited by TSA would mean more than 68,000 discrepancies each day if used for all 2.3 million travelers each day.” (41 In recent years, hundreds of passengers have passed through TSA security checkpoints. „Recent news reports that TSA has completely avoided the facial recognition program suggest that the agency should focus on the basics rather than expanding its facial recognition program,“ the letter continues.
The bipartisan group that signed the letter:
- Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon)
- John Kennedy (R-Los Angeles)
- Ed Markey (D-MA)
- Roger Marshall (R-KS)
- Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
- Ron Wyden (D-Oregon)
- Steve Daines (R-Montana)
- Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
- Mike Brown (Republican, India)
- Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
- Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
- Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
- Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
- LaFonza Butler (D-CA)
According to , the current FAA reauthorization bill currently allocates $105 billion in spending to the FAA and $738 million to the NTSB. CNN.
Facial recognition technology at airports is steadily gaining popularity, with only 16 airports implementing the technology. Late 2022, which has now grown to 25 airports and will increase to 430 airports by this summer. However, it remains to be seen whether the pushback from these senators will have an impact. And they are clearly concerned about where this situation will go if facial recognition is used in the domestic security environment.
„While TSA has stated that this program is optional, it is TSA's stated intent to expand this technology beyond security checkpoints and require passengers to undergo a facial recognition scan on every trip. Yes,” the letter says.