Senators Seek to Curb Facial Recognition at Airports, Citing Privacy Concerns
The New York Times
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing to add language to the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration that would halt expansion of the technology.
A bipartisan group of senators is pushing to halt the expansion of facial recognition technology at airports in the United States and restrict its use as part of the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill that is making its way through Congress.
Citing privacy concerns, Senators Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, and John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, are proposing to block the expansion of the technology until 2027 and require the Transportation Security Administration to make clear that passengers can opt out at airports where it is in use.
With a Friday deadline for renewing the aviation law, the proposal is among the amendments likely to get a vote before the bill can pass. It has pit privacy advocates in both parties against consumer and industry groups that argue that the technology has the potential to vastly cut down on wait times at airports and increase convenience and safety.
Under a plan from the Transportation Security Administration, the government would expand facial recognition technology to more than 430 airports, from 25, as part of an effort to speed up the check-in process and improve security. Using kiosks with iPads affixed to them, passengers have their photographs taken and matched to an image from an ID, eliminating the need for workers to make such a match with their eyes.
Mr. Merkley said he had grown concerned about the technology after encountering it at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. While a facial scan is optional, many passengers feel pressured to comply, he said.
The senator often insists on his right to decline the facial scan, but he said some airport security workers pushed back. Until recently, he said, there was no sign clearly indicating that passengers were not obligated to have their faces scanned at security checkpoints.
