Several senators are looking to ban most facial recognition technology at airports, a move that the U.S. Travel Association says would “undermine aviation security, delay millions of flyers [and] set TSA screening back decades.”
What you need to know:
Senators Jeff Merkley and John Kennedy, alongside four other cosponsors, have introduced an amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill that would “immediately prevent the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from using most automated facial matching technology at airport checkpoints,” currently implemented at many of the largest and busiest airports in the U.S. This amendment would ban or severely restrict TSA from using biometric technology, resulting in longer wait times in security screening checkpoint lines and reducing the layers of security afforded by advanced biometric facial matching programs—such as the CAT-2 machines and TSA PreCheck’s Touchless ID partnerships with Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. Further, millions of dollars would go to waste in U.S. taxpayer-funded programs used to develop and produce these technologies.
“Biometric technology is the future of air traveler screening and it is supported by the traveling public,” said Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. “Misguided efforts to place blanket restrictions on facial technology only succeed in harming security, wasting travelers’ time and costing millions in taxpayer dollars invested in developing state-of-the-art screening technology. Congress will provoke the ire of millions of travelers if it chooses to hinder innovation, slow the travel process and reduce security.”
The introduction of the amendment comes at nearly the same time when the Commission on Seamless and Secure Travel, joined by leaders of the TSA, Delta and U.S. Travel, toured innovations such as TSA PreCheck Touchless ID with Delta, CAT-2 screening technology and Delta’s curb-to-gate digital identity experience during a visit to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. These innovations, U.S. Travel says, represent “the future of efficient and secure biometric screening.”
Kevin McAleenan, former acting secretary of Homeland Security, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and member of the Commission on Seamless and Secure Travel, stated: “Biometrics are critical to TSA's mission, bolstering its commitment to security and the customer experience. By leveraging facial recognition and other biometric technologies, TSA has increased security at the checkpoint, enhanced the traveler experience, and improved efficiency thereby focusing more resources on new and emerging threats.”
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