Senators want limits on the government’s use of facial recognition technology for airport screening
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators is calling for limits on the Transportation Security Administration’s use of facial recognition technology, saying they are concerned about traveler privacy and civil liberties.
In a letter Thursday, the group of 14 lawmakers called on Senate leaders to use the upcoming reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration as a means to limit the TSA’s use of the technology so Congress can exert some oversight.
“This technology poses a significant threat to our privacy and civil liberties, and Congress should prohibit TSA’s development and deployment of facial recognition tools until rigorous congressional oversight occurs,” the senators wrote.
The effort was led by Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., John Kennedy, R-La., and Roger Marshall, R-Kan.
The FAA reauthorization is one of the last bills this Congress must pass. The agency regulates airlines and aircraft manufacturers and manages the country’s airspace.
TSA, part of the Homeland Security Department, has rolled out facial recognition technology in a pilot project at select airports. Travelers insert their driver’s license into a slot that reads the card or place their passport photo against a card reader. They then watch a camera on an iPad-sized screen, which captures their image and compares it to their ID. The technology checks whether travelers at the airport match the ID they present and that the identification is genuine. A TSA officer signs off the display.
The agency says the system improves the accuracy of identity verification without slowing the speed of passengers at checkpoints.
Passengers can opt out, although David Pekoske, the TSA administrator, said last year that biometrics would eventually be necessary because they are more effective and efficient. He gave no timeline.
Critics have raised questions about how the data is collected, who has access to it and what happens if a hack occurs. Privacy advocates worry about possible biases in the algorithms and say it is not clear enough to passengers that they do not have to submit to facial recognition.
“It is clear that we are at a critical juncture,” the senators wrote. “The scope of government use of facial recognition on Americans will increase exponentially under TSA’s plans, with little to no public debate or congressional oversight.”