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According to the Associated Press, which first reported[1] the plan on Wednesday, facial-scanning pilot programs are already underway at six American airports—Boston, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, New York City, and Washington DC. More are set to expand next year.
In a recent privacy assessment, DHS noted that the "only way for an individual to ensure he or she is not subject to collection of biometric information when traveling internationally is to refrain from traveling."
In recent years, facial recognition has become more common amongst federal and local law enforcement: a 2016 Georgetown study found that half of adult Americans are already in such biometric databases.
[1] The Associated Press article is reprinted at ABC News. Articles at hosted.ap.org can mysteriously break.
-- submitted from IRC
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 13 2017, @12:56PM (4 children)
Freedom requires responsibility for one's actions. In this sense, the accountability of being identifible is useful. If you are trying to hide your identity, you are likely doing something that eventually limits the freedom of all. This says that things that mask your identity should not be allowed in public. Bank robbers and cops with masks are probably the poster child for this issue. Unless you can fix this, then this is most likely yet another case similar to gun laws are best at keeping guns from the good guys.
The technology of facial recognition is not likely to be perfect. Countermeasures to cause the s/w to look at the pictures and pick out false landmarks seem simple enough. Again, it seems likely to only catch the dumb bad guys.
The worry here is an old one. That this is yet another a force multiplier with the potential to make government more powerful than the people. With human nature in charge, it is hard to have a democracy for very long if that happens.
(Score: 5, Touché) by lx on Thursday July 13 2017, @03:21PM
Says the Anonymous Coward.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 13 2017, @07:26PM (2 children)
I've never tried to do anything that would result in restricting freedoms of anyone, yet many times I would like to remain anonymous. Just because someone desires privacy does not mean they are up to no good.
Running over the rights of free people in order to catch a very small number of "bad people" is just dumb. Can we create a magic clue-stick that beats people over the head when they say stupid shit like "if you've got nothing to hide you've got nothing to fear". Cause that logic works out so well for the unarmed innocent citizens that have been murdered by police, thrown in jail, banned from flying, etc. etc. etc.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 13 2017, @09:06PM (1 child)
If you've got nothing to fear, you've got nothing to hide.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 13 2017, @10:38PM
You're probably not a jew, roma, homosexual, sexually active outside of wedlock, foreigner/gaijin, political dissident, member of the minority party, female in a repressive culture, cis white male in america....
Oh, shit, at least one of those probably covers you, doesn't it?