Sens. introduce bill banning facial recognition technology at airports

Airport facial recognition bill overview: 

• Who: Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. and John Kennedy, R-La. have introduced a bill they are calling the Traveler Privacy Protection Act. 
• Why: The bill would prevent the Transportation Security Administration from being able to use facial recognition technology on travelers at the airport and require the agency to dispose of any biometric data they have already collected. 
• Where: The bill would affect travelers at airports across the US. 

A pair of US senators introduced a bill last month that would prevent the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from using facial recognition technology at the airport and require it to get rid of any facial biometric data it has already collected.

Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. and John Kennedy, R-La. brought forward what they are calling the  Traveler Privacy Protection Act, which would require the TSA to dispose of any facial biometric data no later than 90 days after the bill is enacted. 

“Every day, TSA scans thousands of Americans’ faces without their permission and without making it clear that travelers can opt out of the invasive screening,” Kennedy said in a statement. 

Facial biometric information that the TSA would be required to dispose of under the bill includes both images and video that were obtained by the agency through facial recognition technology or facial matching software, according to the bill.  

The TSA first started testing for facial recognition at Los Angeles International Airport following its release of a biometric road map in 2018 that called for biometrics to be used for passengers at the airport, according to the senators, reports Law360. 

Merkley and Kennedy argue that, while the TSA allegedly says the facial recognition scans are voluntary, passengers are mostly unaware that they are able to opt out of the program and that the TSA does not do a good job of informing them as such. 

TSA announced plans to implement facial recognition scans at more than 430 airports in the US, senators say

The bill comes in the wake of the TSA announcing that it was planning on implementing facial recognition scans at more than 430 US airports as an expansion to its facial recognition pilot program, according to the senators. 

“The TSA program is a precursor to a full-blown national surveillance state. Nothing could be more damaging to our national values of privacy and freedom. No government should be trusted with this power,” said Merkley, in a statement. 

The bill would immediately ban the TSA from expanding its facial recognition pilot program and require “explicit congressional authorization” for the TSA to use facial recognition technology in the future, according to the senators. 

The bill was co-sponsored by Sens. Roger Marshall R-Kan., Elizabeth Warren D-Mass., Edward J. Markey D-Mass. and Bernie Sanders I-Vt. and has received backing from groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the Public Citizen and the Electronic Privacy Information Center, reports Law360. 

In other news involving a new bill, the US House of Representatives voted in July to approve a five-year bill that reauthorized safety and airport improvement programs that were created by the Federal Aviation Administration. 

Are you concerned about facial recognition technology being used at the airport? Let us know in the comments.

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