Here’s something I’m embarrassed to admit: I’m reporting facial recognition issues though Half a dozen years, I allowed my face to be scanned at the airport. not even once not twice many times
There are many reasons for this. For one thing, traveling is stressful. I feel time pressure to get to my gate quickly and social pressure to avoid long lines. (That alone suggests that I’m not really consenting to facial scans so much as being forced into them.) Also, I’m always being “randomly selected” for additional screening, probably because of my Middle Eastern background. So I’m nervous about doing anything that might cause additional delay or questioning.
But the main reason I didn’t refuse airport face scans was actually quite simple: I had no idea I could opt out.
It turns out that saying no is not only possible, but Amazingly easy – at least in theory. Anyone, regardless of citizenship, can opt out of domestic flights within the United States (For international flights, US citizens may opt out but foreign nationals must participate in face scanning, with some exceptions.) Just stand away from the camera or cover your face with a mask, present your ID and say, “I’m out of biometrics. I want the standard verification process.”
In theory, an officer would have to manually look at your ID and compare it to your face, just like they did before facial recognition. But in reality, there is Passengers report – even a senator – facing resistance or intimidation When they try to go this way.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) also have clear signs informing passengers of their right to opt out. But in many airports, you really have to look, it’s really hard to find that message. Be prepared to crane your neck at an unnatural angle or squint at a very small font!
That’s why the Algorithmic Justice League, a nonprofit that focuses on AI harm, launched a campaign this month. “Freedom Flyer” To raise awareness of your right to opt out. The timing is perfect: TSA registered June 23 marked an all-time record day for air travel, with nearly 3 million people screened at the nation’s airports as the summer holiday season began.
Now is the time to make sure you know your rights when going through airport security — and understand exactly what’s at stake. The effects can go beyond air travel.
How facial recognition works at airports
In the United States, More than 80 airports Currently using facial recognition technology. TSA’s goal is to roll out the technology at all of the more than 430 airports it covers. the argument That such automation would reduce “friction” at airports — meaning, presumably, how long it takes passengers to get through security.
This should raise some eyebrows, as there are known risks with this AI technology, potentially from your mouth data Theft is due to infringement Chances are you will Misidentified as a criminal suspect – and sent to prison. None of these are hypothetical scenarios; The former occurred due to weaknesses in the CBP system and the latter occurred at the hands of the police. And then, of course, there’s AI bias; Facial recognition tech is known to disproportionately misidentify people of color.
But as dangerous as facial recognition can be if it goes wrong, what might happen if it is found to be working as intended may be of greater concern. When I asked Joy Buolamwini, founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, what worries him about the use of this technology at airports, he said, “The biggest thing for me is normalizing surveillance.”
Buolamwini argued that airport facial recognition is a way to get the public used to receiving more and more sensitive information. “I see it in the long run,” he said. “And they showed you the trajectory.”
He was mentioned A roadmap released by TSA in 2018. It distinguishes between two types of facial recognition: There is one-to-one matching, where the TSA compares your passport photo with the photo you took at the airport, so that the photos match. (If you’ve ever used your face to unlock your iPhone, this is the type of facial recognition you’re using.)
Then there’s one-to-many matching, where your image is compared to another’s image. One-to-many matching is already being used by CBP and airline partners to compare passenger photos to databases of official documents (such as US passports) for verification, TSA press secretary Carter Langston told me via email.
A particularly worrisome form of one-to-many matching is live biometrics “Live biometrics is Minority Report Kind of thing — where you’re just walking around and they can spot you,” Buolamwini said. And if everyone’s face becomes fair game for live biometrics, your face could one day be checked against a criminal database when you walk through a drugstore or show up at a protest, creating a dangerous chilling effect across society.
The TSA’s own 2018 roadmap says it aims to use “live biometrics” in the future. However, Langston disputes Buolamwini’s interpretation of the word. “This interpretation of TSA’s use case is not something I’ve heard anyone involved with the program indicate. TSA’s use case has been and continues to be about identity verification,” he told me.
For now, Buolamwini says, “You might hear people saying ‘Oh, we’re just doing one-to-one matching. You show us your ID, you show us your face and we delete the data.’” But, he insists, the whole story is more complicated.
Do airports really delete your photos after taking them?
The first thing to know is that if you are not a US citizen, you have no guarantee that your photos will be deleted.
actually, According to CBP documents“Face Image for In-Scope [noncitizen] Travelers are also referred to the Department’s Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) and Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology System (HART). All biometrics of in-scope travelers are transmitted to IDENT/HART as encounters and retained for 75 years in support of immigration, border management, and law enforcement activities.”
That means your photo could end up in the database for the rest of your life. What’s more, CBP Comment That “CBP may share information with federal, state and local authorities, which may be authorized to use the information for purposes outside the scope of CBP’s mission.”
If you’re a US citizen, you can breathe a little easier after reading up on CBP website, “CBP retains photographs of U.S. citizens for more than 12 hours after identity verification and for continuity of operations purposes only.” But still, there’s reason to wonder if all your data is really deleted after those 12 hours.
When you submit facial recognition, the technology analyzes and creates a photo of your face called a “face print” or “face template.” It is not an image – it comes in the form of a series of numbers. You can think of it as the metadata of your face.
The problem is, even if airports delete your photo, it doesn’t mean they’re deleting your face print And that face print is real informative gold. Researchers have shown that They can reconstruct an image of your real face Until they got the face print.
I asked CBP what would happen to that valuable series of numbers. A CBP spokeswoman responded, but did not answer questions about whether facial prints would be removed.
If you’ve already let airports scan your face, does it make sense to say no next time?
Maybe you are in the same situation as me. Maybe you’ve already let the airport scan your face. And while you’re probably wondering if saying no in the future will make a difference, your facial data is probably already in a database – or two – or three. (Unlike the TSA, your private airline may scan your face instead of your boarding pass before you board the plane, although airlines say You can opt out of domestic flights.)
Buolamwini’s opinion? The face scan is definitely worth refusing the next time you fly. “Every opt-out opportunity is a way to vote for your biometric rights,” he said.
We’ve already seen that when the public outcry is big enough, it can wipe out facial data. After Facebook’s facial recognition system sparked class-action lawsuits, government investigations, and public outrage, the company ended up More than a billion users’ faces are being erased In 2021.
“Face cleansing can and does happen,” Buolamwini said.
Remember, the TSA’s stated reason for introducing facial recognition at airports is to reduce friction. If you’re unhappy with the use of technology, you might consider creating more friction the next time you fly.
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