Security News > 2023 > July > TSA wants to expand facial recognition to hundreds of airports within next decade

Its abilities have been assessed over the past two years, and the system has boosted identity verification efficiency without infringing on travelers' privacy rights, a TSA spokesperson told us.

"Right now we are at six percent fully operational capacity," TSA press secretary Carter Langston said in an interview with The Register.

The agency's plan to expand its facial-recognition program, first reported by Fast Company on Friday, "Is about transportation security," Langston added, noting that participation in TSA's biometric, mobile driver's license, and digital ID programs are all voluntary.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center, has a different view on the airport facial scans.

"This is because the US lacks an overarching law to regulate the use of facial recognition to ensure the necessary transparency, accountability, and oversight to protect our privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights," he added.

In June 2021, TSA worked with Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate to review how well the technology identified people, and according to the agency, it found no consistent statistically significant differences in the way the software identified people, regardless of their gender, race, and skin tone.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/07/03/tsa_facial_recognition_airport/