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Facial recognition expands at airports despite privacy concerns

Image: Easier

February 19, 2024

Facial recognition identification verification at airports continues to expand both domestically and globally, despite concerns about user privacy, according to a report in The New York Times. The technology offers enhanced security and faster processing.

Several foreign international airports have also installed the technology at immigration and customs as well as electronic gates.

In the U.S., TSA PreCheck requires an in-person appointment to give fingerprints and show documents while Clear, a private screening company that uses eye and fingerprint recognition, has helped to reduce the wait times but requires travelers to stand in queues to get to their gates.

The TSA currently uses facial recognition verification at more than 30 airports where a photo is taken of the traveler. The facial recognition software then matches the image to a physical scan of a passport or license. The photo is soon deleted.

The TSA said it will offer this process, which passengers can opt out of, at 400 more airports in the coming years.

Delta Digital ID allows PreCheck travelers to use their faces in lieu of boarding passes and IDs at both security and bag drop at some airports.

American Airlines customers can use their faces for PreCheck screening at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and to enter the airline's lounge at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

United Airlines PreCheck travelers can use their faces at bag drop counters at Chicago O'Hare International Airport and will expand the program in March to Los Angeles International Airport.

Critics claim the convenience does not outweigh the potential for abuses such as excessive surveillance and gender discrimination.