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Senators Say TSA's Facial Recognition Program is Out of Control

posted by Fnord666 on Monday December 02, @06:07PM   Printer-friendly
from the 1984-was-a-warning-not-a-guidebook dept.
Digital Liberty

upstart writes:

Senators Say TSA's Facial Recognition Program Is Out of Control, Here's How to Opt Out:

A bipartisan group of 12 senators has urged the Transportation Security Administration's inspector general to investigate the agency's use of facial recognition, saying it poses a significant threat to privacy and civil liberties.

Their letter comes just before one of the busiest travel periods of the year when millions of Americans are expected to pass through the nation's airports.

"This technology will soon be in use at hundreds of major and mid-size airports without an independent evaluation of the technology's precision or an audit of whether there are sufficient safeguards in place to protect passenger privacy," the senators wrote.

The letter was signed by Jeffrey Merkley (D-OR), John Kennedy (R-LA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), Ron Wyden (D-OR),  Steve Daines (R-MT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Peter Welch (D-VT).

While the TSA's facial recognition program is currently optional and only in a few dozen airports, the agency announced in June that it plans to expand the technology to more than 430 airports. And the senators' letter quotes a talk given by TSA Administrator David Pekoske in 2023 in which he said "we will get to the point where we require biometrics across the board."

[...] To opt out of a face scan at an airport, a traveler need only say that they decline facial recognition. They can then proceed normally through security by presenting an identification document, such as a driver's license or passport.

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  • (Score: 2) by looorg on Monday December 02, @06:37PM (11 children)

    by looorg (578) on Monday December 02, @06:37PM (#1384026)

    To opt out of a face scan at an airport, a traveler need only say that they decline facial recognition. They can then proceed normally through security by presenting an identification document, such as a driver's license or passport.

    Why would anyone, sane, agree to have the facial recognition scan then? Is there any kind of perk involved? After all if you are flying you, probably, have an ID card or a drivers license. Is it faster/easier and people are so lazy that they can't pull out any form of ID?

    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by DrkShadow on Monday December 02, @06:41PM (10 children)

      by DrkShadow (1404) on Monday December 02, @06:41PM (#1384027)

      You're required to present your ID to the computer to scan and compare to your face. A show that the government already has your image on file and accessible at immediate notice to computer systems everywhere/anywhere.

      It's not faster than having a TSA rep look at you.

      There's literally no benefit. Just more post-2000's security-theater.

      In similar news, my drivers license picture comes up when I go to the doctor. Like, wtf.

      • (Score: 5, Insightful) by datapharmer on Monday December 02, @06:44PM

        by datapharmer (2702) on Monday December 02, @06:44PM (#1384029)

        Yep to prevent medical fraud (no insurance? Acute injury?….Just borrow your buddy’s type scenario)

        Of course not running insurance for profit in the first place might help.

      • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 02, @07:28PM (8 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 02, @07:28PM (#1384036)

        You're required to present your ID to the computer to scan and compare to your face. A show that the government already has your image on file and accessible at immediate notice to computer systems everywhere/anywhere.

        Except when you're not [vox.com]:

        It turns out that saying no is not only doable, but surprisingly easy — at least in theory. Everyone, regardless of citizenship, can opt out when it comes to domestic flights in the US. (For international flights, US citizens can opt out but foreign nationals have to participate in face scanning, with some exceptions.) Simply stand away from the camera or keep your face covered with a mask, present your ID, and say, “I opt out of biometrics. I want the standard verification process.”

        In theory, an officer is then supposed to manually look over your ID and compare it to your face, as they used to do before facial recognition. But in practice, there have been reports of passengers — even a senator — facing resistance or intimidation when they try to go this route.
        [...]
        This is why the Algorithmic Justice League, a nonprofit that sheds light on AI harms, launched a campaign this month called “Freedom Flyers” to raise awareness of your right to opt out. The timing is perfect: The TSA recorded an all-time record day for air travel on June 23, with nearly 3 million people screened at the country’s airports as summer vacation season picked up.

        In fact, according to The TSA themselves [tsa.gov]:

        TSA policy requires that TSOs show each traveler respect and ensure their privacy is protected. Travelers who do not wish to participate in the facial recognition technology process may decline the optional photo, without recourse, in favor of an alternative identity verification process, which does not use facial recognition technology to verify their identity. This action will not take longer and travelers will not lose their place in line for security screening. TSA is committed to protecting traveler privacy, civil rights, civil liberties and ensuring the public’s trust as it seeks to improve the traveler experience through its exploration of identity verification technologies.

        • (Score: 4, Interesting) by DrkShadow on Monday December 02, @07:44PM (7 children)

          by DrkShadow (1404) on Monday December 02, @07:44PM (#1384039)

          I see the confusion.

          Yes, you can opt out of facial recognition at big-mass-of-people checkpoints to get to your plane - I do so every time I fly. It works. You show your ID to the human that's there, they look at you, and you're on your way.

          The part that I was contradicting is that if you submit to facial recognition that you don't need to get your ID out. You do. You submit your ID to the scanner, and you submit your face to the scanner. There's nothing to be gained, no "don't have to take out your ID", by submitting to China-style facial recognition tech. At least, ID scanning was required when I last flew a few months ago.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 02, @07:50PM (5 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 02, @07:50PM (#1384040)

            I see the confusion.

            Except I'm not confused -- I'm aware of the law and the process.

            you were just being imprecise. There's a difference between your imprecision and my (purported) confusion.

            • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 02, @08:08PM (4 children)

              by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 02, @08:08PM (#1384041)

              I see.

              There was no confusion, only an "imprecision".

              So you jumped to an incorrect conclusion, where both are possible, and strongly assert yourself, without considering whether the *other* conclusion fits the rest of what was written. Ok. We of the world will work to ensure that the English language never results in ambiguities, ever again -- our fault. Sorry.

              You strike me as a *very* pleasant, sociable person who's easy to converse with. Obviously, I am not. Lets you and me just.. not.

              • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 02, @09:09PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 02, @09:09PM (#1384048)

                You strike me as a *very* pleasant, sociable person who's easy to converse with.

                In that case, let me disabuse you of that notion, you moronic piece of shit.

                Fuck off.

                Any further meaning-free blather in which you'd like to engage? If so, please do so elsewhere, so as not to soil this place with your verbal diarrhea.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 02, @09:13PM (2 children)

                by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 02, @09:13PM (#1384050)

                So you jumped to an incorrect conclusion,

                I drew no conclusions from what GP said other than that they were imprecise. They said [soylentnews.org]:

                You're required to present your ID to the computer to scan and compare to your face

                That's not accurate [tsa.gov]. Full stop.

                • (Score: 2) by DrkShadow on Monday December 02, @10:12PM (1 child)

                  by DrkShadow (1404) on Monday December 02, @10:12PM (#1384055)

                  I guess if we consider the context,

                  Why would anyone, sane, agree to have the facial recognition scan then? [...] Is it faster/easier and people [...] can't pull out any form of ID?

                  The context is: going through facial recognition without ID. My claim is: facial recognition still requires ID. It seems some context has been lost.

                  ---

                  You're required to present your ID to the computer to scan and compare to your face

                  That's not accurate [tsa.gov]. Full stop.

                  From the link,

                  Traveler poses for picture at the Travel Document Checker podium to verify that her facial features are the same as those on her identification credential. Photo: Courtesy TSA.

                  The facial recognition technology TSA uses helps ensure the person standing at the checkpoint is the same person pictured on the identification document (ID) credential.

                  I mean, I don't think the boarding pass alone has your photo on it. If there is no documentation credential, then presumably it can't check for a match.... . . . so in summary, your link says,

                  You're required to present your ID to the computer to scan and compare to your face

                  right?

                  Maybe we should just not. :-) I mean, I don't think I've ever seen mods delete comments before..

                  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 02, @10:19PM

                    by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 02, @10:19PM (#1384057)

                    From the link (and I even quoted this part in my initial reply too, but apparently, you decided to ignore it -- for whatever reasons):

                    TSA policy requires that TSOs show each traveler respect and ensure their privacy is protected. Travelers who do not wish to participate in the facial recognition technology process may decline the optional photo, without recourse, in favor of an alternative identity verification process, which does not use facial recognition technology to verify their identity. This action will not take longer and travelers will not lose their place in line for security screening. TSA is committed to protecting traveler privacy, civil rights, civil liberties and ensuring the public’s trust as it seeks to improve the traveler experience through its exploration of identity verification technologies.

                    [emphasis added]

                    So, no. You do not have to submit to facial recognition by the TSA. Full stop.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 02, @09:19PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 02, @09:19PM (#1384051)

            The part that I was contradicting is that if you submit to facial recognition that you don't need to get your ID out.

            That's as may be.

            However, you are not (as you explicitly claimed) required to submit to facial recognition. That's all.

  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by bzipitidoo on Monday December 02, @08:38PM

    by bzipitidoo (4388) on Monday December 02, @08:38PM (#1384044) Journal

    For decades, law enforcement has been lusting for facial recognition. A big problem is that scaling up to millions of faces hits a lot of false positives. Even if the facial recognition rejects 99.99% of the non-matches, which is considered exceptionally good matching, a random person's face is still going to have 100 hits for every million faces in the database. But law enforcement tends to not care enough about such problems, they want so greatly to believe facial recognition can be almost perfect.

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by ikanreed on Monday December 02, @09:39PM (2 children)

    by ikanreed (3164) on Monday December 02, @09:39PM (#1384053) Journal

    Private corporations are face-tracking fucking everywhere. Every-goddamn place with cameras is watching us now. Vending machines, stores, self-checkouts, ATMS, banks, and, naturally, social media. Everywhere.

    If we say the fed can't do it, they'll start delegating responsibility for tracking you everywhere to third parties and just get warrants to get the data.

    Privacy isn't dead, but it's living in a tiny corner of your own house, if you leave your phone in another room.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 03, @02:04AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 03, @02:04AM (#1384068)

      I'm hoping the new government will shut down the tracking and give us back our right to privacy. I'm not holding my breath though.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by mhajicek on Tuesday December 03, @06:26AM

      by mhajicek (51) on Tuesday December 03, @06:26AM (#1384083)

      Correct, except for the fact that they get the data without warrants most of the time.

      --
      The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Tokolosh on Tuesday December 03, @02:26AM (1 child)

    by Tokolosh (585) on Tuesday December 03, @02:26AM (#1384071)

    Some people are more equal than others and suffer no inconvenience at the hands of the TSA.

    https://youtu.be/dN8OtqP9eBA [youtu.be]

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 03, @08:24AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 03, @08:24AM (#1384084)

      Four legs good. Two legs bad.

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