Just in case your opinion of the TSA wasn't already low enough, they'll now have more of your biometric data.
According to a report released Monday in the technology policy outlet Nextgov/FCW, the TSA plans to launch new facial scanning units at more than 400 airports in the United States, and is currently working “with the Department of Homeland Security’s Research and Development Component to analyze data to ensure that the new units work.” correctly.
“The latest CAT scanners — known as CAT-2 units — incorporate facial recognition technology by taking real-time photos of travelers and then comparing those photos to their photo ID cards,” the outlet reported.
TSA debuted CAT-2 units in 2020 and began deploying the new scanners at airports in 2022. A Jan. 12 news release from the agency said it added “457 CAT-2 upgrade kits using facial recognition technology” in 2023.”
Given the fact that the average American traveler has what can be described as a low trust relationship with the TSA, they make this sound as mundane as apple pie, insisting that the data collected will be “minimal.”
“CAT-2 units are currently deployed at nearly 30 airports nationwide, and will expand to more than 400 federal airports over the coming years,” a TSA official told Nextgov/FCW, noting that travelers can opt out of Screening is by notification of a TSA agent and is subject to standard verification procedures.
Furthermore, the move is described as a privacy enhancement, not a privacy violation.
“The agency’s CAT-2 units use so-called single verification, where photos are generally compared to a government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license or passport, and then deleted from the scanner,” Nextgov/FC reported. .
“This is often considered less of an invasion of privacy than so-called one-to-one matching, where the image is compared to a larger database compiled of images of known individuals to determine if there is a match.”
A fact sheet from the TSA also attempted to reassure travelers that these systems would in no way be used to violate their privacy rights — even though that promise and $5 will get you a slice of pizza at LaGuardia Sbarro's and absolutely nothing else.
“TSA is committed to protecting passenger privacy, civil rights and civil liberties and ensuring public trust as it seeks to improve the passenger experience by exploring identity verification technologies,” the media release said.
“Facial recognition technology is only used to automate the existing manual identity verification process and will not be used for surveillance or any law enforcement purpose,” the agency added.
“TSA uses CAT-2 facial recognition technology only to verify a traveler's identity on the platform and decide whether to access physical security screening.”
However, although this TSA bureaucratic verbiage sounds voluntary and pleasant, there is still troubling language buried in the media release.
For example, while the agency insists on wiping the data, it comes with a warning: “Images are not stored or saved after a positive identity match has been made.” Except in a limited testing environment to evaluate the effectiveness of the technology(Emphasis ours.)
The media release does not explain how limited this testing environment is, the time period over which the evaluation will be performed, and how much biometric data will need to be stored to determine the “effectiveness of the technology.” Most travelers will come up with answers to these questions based on how much they trust TSA. So, yeah – given that, I'm going to guess this won't be very popular among travelers.
Sens. John Kennedy of Louisiana and Jeff Merkley of Oregon agree on almost nothing. The former is a colored Republican, the latter a caricature of the progressive Democrat of the Pacific Northwest. With them in the same room, you're two-thirds of the way into a new version of Jean-Paul Sartre's “No Exit.” (“Hell it is – other legislators!”)
However, both senators agree on at least one thing: CAT-2 technology must be regulated, and fast.
According to Forbes, Kennedy and Merkley introduced a bill last November, the Traveler Privacy Protection Act of 2023, that would ban the use of scanners, saying they can be easily exploited and that travelers don't know there's an opt-out option. The bill also requires Congress to explicitly authorize any future use of facial recognition technology.
“Every day, the TSA scans the faces of thousands of Americans without their permission and without making it clear that travelers can opt out of invasive screening. The Travelers' Privacy Protection Act will protect every American from Big Brother's interference by ending the recognition program,” Kennedy said in a media statement. on the face”.
Merkley echoed these thoughts: “The TSA program is the precursor to a full-fledged national surveillance state. Nothing could be more damaging to our national values of privacy and freedom. No government with this power should be trusted.”
The bill's other sponsors are proving that this isn't just a fake bipartisanship: Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas, Democratic Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and independent socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Given the general animosity between those personal parties, this lineup makes one hell of a (pardon the pun) remake of No Exit I suggested earlier.
The bill has just been submitted and no movement has been observed on it, according to the official Congressional website.
As the rollout continues, one expects the movement to move forward quickly to curb — if not outright ban — this wretched technology. If not, both political parties will prove (once again) to be as useless as the security theater run by the TSA.
This article originally appeared in The Western Journal.
