Senators seek to restrict facial recognition at airports, citing privacy concerns

A bipartisan group of senators is pushing to halt the expansion of facial recognition technology at U.S. airports and restrict its use as part of the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill making its way through Congress.

Citing privacy concerns, Senators Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, and John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, propose blocking the expansion of the technology until 2027 and requiring the Transportation Security Administration to make clear that passengers can opt out on airports where it is in use.

With a Friday deadline for renewing the aviation law, the proposal is among the amendments likely to be voted on before the bill is approved. It pitted privacy advocates from both parties against consumer and industry groups who argue the technology has the potential to vastly reduce airport wait times and increase convenience and security.

Under a plan from the Transportation Security Administration, the government would expand facial recognition technology to more than 430 airports, up from 25, as part of an effort to speed up the check-in process and improve security. Using kiosks with iPads attached, passengers have their photos taken and compared with the image on an ID, eliminating the need for workers to match them with their eyes.

Merkley said he became concerned about the technology after encountering it at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC. Although facial scanning is optional, many passengers feel pressured to comply, he said.

The senator often insists on his right to refuse a facial scan, but said some airport security officials have pushed back. Until recently, he said, there was no sign clearly indicating that passengers were not required to have their faces scanned at security checkpoints.

“Because I made such a fuss about it, they put up a little postcard saying this is optional, but what you actually see is an iPad that says, ‘Follow directions’ or ‘Follow orders,’” Merkley said. “So people just don’t believe they have that option. They are afraid of being arrested. People are nervous.”

The US Travel Association is warning about the change, arguing that it would create a “serious and worrying scenario for travelers”.

Geoff Freeman, the association’s president and chief executive, said the proposal to crack down on facial recognition technology at airports was “dangerous, expensive and threatens to create chaos at U.S. airports.”

“Eliminating the use of biometrics – like facial scanning – will set America back decades,” he said, “and only misinformed members of Congress are to blame.”

If facial recognition software is not expanded, the travel lobby claims, passengers will end up waiting an additional 120 million hours in security lines every year. The US Travel Association also states that failure to use the technology could result in national security risks.

Merkley rejected the criticism, stressing that his change would only preserve the status quo.

“How does this create a delay? We’re just freezing what’s there now,” he said. “We think it’s an important issue for Congress to address.”

Merkley, who as a state lawmaker in Oregon sought to restrict the use of red light cameras and cellphone tracking, said his focus on facial recognition at airports stemmed from a number of civil liberties concerns. No American should be forced to take photographs without their consent, he said, adding that he was concerned that the government was building a growing database of Americans’ faces that could be misused. He also argued that the technology was inaccurate and had unacceptable error rates.

“I come from rural Oregon, so I’ve always been a little concerned that the government has too much ability to track individuals,” Merkley said.

Merkley and Kennedy were among 14 senators who recently sent a letter to Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, outlining their concerns.

“This technology poses significant threats to our privacy and civil liberties, and Congress should prohibit the TSA’s development and deployment of facial recognition tools until rigorous congressional oversight occurs,” the letter said. It was signed by a mix of lawmakers from both parties, including some prominent liberals and Republicans known for their work on civil liberties issues.

Schumer included the amendment on a list of proposals that should be voted on before the project is approved, but did not take a position on it.

Kennedy said he was particularly concerned about the possibility of government officials abusing the data after scanning millions of faces every day. “Unless Congress reins in this program through our amendment to the FAA reauthorization bill, I fear bureaucrats will begin seizing and hoarding the biometrics of millions of travelers without explicit permission,” he said in a statement.

Alexa C. Lopez, a spokeswoman for the TSA, said the photographs were not stored or saved after a positive identification match, “except in a limited testing environment to evaluate the effectiveness of the technology.” She also said the agency would not use the technology for surveillance or any law enforcement purposes.

Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president of the progressive group Public Citizen, has been pushing for the amendment.

“They’re promoting this as something that makes travel safer or more efficient, but there’s actually no data or proof of that,” she said. “And there are real ramifications for travelers’ privacy and how their data is used.”