Facial recognition will be standard in all US airports within 10 years

[Alfonso Maruccia]

In a nutshell: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) appears prepared to transition its pilot program into a comprehensive biometric identification system for hundreds of American airports. Racial biases? Civil rights? Privacy? Our latest technology solves all the typical issues of biometric surveillance, the TSA says.

TSA agents have been testing the new ID technology for the past two years, and now the federal agency plans to expand the program to screen travelers at 430 US airports. The system, known as CAT-2 and provided by Idemia, is a "secure identity solution" designed to accurately match a live photo capture with an image on a digital ID to verify a passenger's identity.

CAT-2 is being tested in 25 airports across the US, and according to the TSA, the technology has enhanced efficiency in identity verification without infringing on passengers' rights. The US government has allocated $128 million over a span of seven years, while TSA press secretary Carter Langston states that scaling the program up to 430 terminals will take nearly a decade.

According to Idemia's press release, the latest iteration of its "Credential Authentication Technology" improves security screening and facilitates a "touchless experience" by utilizing biometric technology to verify digital identity credentials. The company considers it as one of its most innovative programs, and it has received positive feedback from its TSA partners based on the results obtained from the 2,054 CAT units that have been installed since 2022.

Langston said the biometric ID system is at "six percent fully operational capacity," and it will take several years to reach 100 percent. "Nothing in the federal government happens rapidly," Langston acknowledged.

Biometric identification is currently voluntary, and according to Langston, it has the capability to swiftly detect fake IDs. During the pilot, the facial matching algorithm has proven 97 percent effective across all demographics.

Privacy and civil rights advocacy groups do not share the same enthusiasm about CAT-2, and they advocate for the complete abandonment of the mass surveillance program being established by the US government. Jeramie D. Scott, director of Project on Surveillance Oversight at EPIC, recently said that biometric ID technology is a significant mistake. Scott emphasized concerns not only regarding ongoing privacy and bias issues but also the "long-term implications of using our face as our ID."

It is widely acknowledged that biometrics can be a double-edged sword when it comes to personal identification since individuals cannot change their faces or other biometric traits if scammers manage to "steal" them for malicious purposes. According to the TSA, the CAT-2 system can protect passengers' privacy by overwriting live photos with each new scan.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/99294-facial-recognition-standard-all-us-airports-within-10.html

 

[WhiteLeaff]

It should exist in all airports, who is not dirty, should not be afraid.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

It should exist in all airports, who is not dirty, should not be afraid.

Because innocent people have never been exploited by their governments.

And power never corrupts.

Just give up a bit more freedom and we’ll promise to keep you safe.

 

[WhiteLeaff]

Because innocent people have never been exploited by their governments.

And power never corrupts.

Just give up a bit more freedom and we’ll promise to keep you safe.

Facial recognition in Airports is something totally different from monitoring everything you type or say like Microsoft, Google, Meta, China do... many criminals in suits pass through airports every day.

 

[James Ryan]

Facial recognition in Airports is something totally different from monitoring everything you type or say like Microsoft, Google, Meta, China do... many criminals in suits pass through airports every day.

And all the suits will get a free pass like they always do.
All the trivial stuff from everyday people is what will get attention...
That's how it always goes. This isn't going to change...

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Facial recognition in Airports is something totally different from monitoring everything you type or say like Microsoft, Google, Meta, China do... many criminals in suits pass through airports every day.

Many criminals use roads so we'll surveil all of those.
Many criminals use cash so we'll replace that with a trackable digital currency.
Many criminals use guns so we'll outlaw them.

Taking away everyones freedom because a few people are bad is a quick road to tyranny. And it doesn't even stop all criminals.

 

[scavengerspc]

Many criminals use roads so we'll surveil all of those.
Many criminals use cash so we'll replace that with a trackable digital currency.
Many criminals use guns so we'll outlaw them.

Taking away everyones freedom because a few people are bad is a quick road to tyranny. And it doesn't even stop all criminals.

Every day I am so happy and thankful that I dont feel a need to nail my doors shut and hide under my bed.

 

[WhiteLeaff]

Many criminals use roads so we'll surveil all of those.
Many criminals use cash so we'll replace that with a trackable digital currency.
Many criminals use guns so we'll outlaw them.

Taking away everyones freedom because a few people are bad is a quick road to tyranny. And it doesn't even stop all criminals.

What kind of freedom is being taken away with biometric identification at airports? The freedom to flee to another country with stolen money/drugs/illegal products undetected and hide in China or another dictatorial country? It is far more than a few that are bad.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

What kind of freedom is being taken away with biometric identification at airports? The freedom to flee to another country with stolen money/drugs/illegal products undetected and hide in China or another dictatorial country? It is far more than a few that are bad.

The right to privacy? The freedom to not be tracked by authorities who would LOVE an excuse to punish someone that speaks ill of them?

Did you just graduate high school? Governments LOVE abusing power, ANY power, that they can get over the peasantry. I should not have to live in a glass house just because Joe decided to go to china with stolen money. You may THINK you have nothing to hide, but I guarantee you break laws every day, everyone does, the law is a leviathan that no single person can truly memorize. With tracking and surveillance everywhere, you have now given authorities the ability to scroll through your life and nitpick everything you do. The moment you step out of line, or it becomes politically convenient, or someone just has a grudge against you, they can make your life hell for years.

 

[WhiteLeaff]

The right to privacy? The freedom to not be tracked by authorities who would LOVE an excuse to punish someone that speaks ill of them?

Did you just graduate high school? Governments LOVE abusing power, ANY power, that they can get over the peasantry. I should not have to live in a glass house just because Joe decided to go to china with stolen money. You may THINK you have nothing to hide, but I guarantee you break laws every day, everyone does, the law is a leviathan that no single person can truly memorize. With tracking and surveillance everywhere, you have now given authorities the ability to scroll through your life and nitpick everything you do. The moment you step out of line, or it becomes politically convenient, or someone just has a grudge against you, they can make your life hell for years.

Yes, I'm more concerned about the joe who steals billions through financial fraud, shuts down his seemingly legally registered company in the middle of the night, and runs free to China where he hides forever. In the largest economy in the world this happens.

Honestly, I'm all for people freely speaking their minds, but I don't imagine what kind of person will trash-talk politicians at an airport and, more importantly, as biometric identification goes into this, you need to identify yourself with a passport to travel. This is simply a method of nullifying the use of false passports. In addition to preventing criminals from escaping.

btw if where you are it is possible to be arrested just for criticizing someone you have a much bigger problem to deal with than biometric identification.

 

[bandit8623]

Yes, I'm more concerned about the joe who steals billions through financial fraud, shuts down his seemingly legally registered company in the middle of the night, and runs free to China where he hides forever. In the largest economy in the world this happens.

Honestly, I'm all for people freely speaking their minds, but I don't imagine what kind of person will trash-talk politicians at an airport and, more importantly, as biometric identification goes into this, you need to identify yourself with a passport to travel. This is simply a method of nullifying the use of false passports. In addition to preventing criminals from escaping.

btw if where you are it is possible to be arrested just for criticizing someone you have a much bigger problem to deal with than biometric identification.

Like many countries already... The talk of removing cash has had a huge push lately. Red flag gun laws in many places... Even here in USA. Things going this direction are not good.

Oh and the government never gets ita data hacked.... They will never give out your information. Although government or big corp who is worse? Instead of government putting regulations on big corp we have government putting more regulations on ordinary citizens..

 

[bandit8623]

It should exist in all airports, who is not dirty, should not be afraid.

And when deep fakes take over your profile.. then you are stuck as a bad guy

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Every day I am so happy and thankful that I dont feel a need to nail my doors shut and hide under my bed.

Good. As I pointed out in my post, fear is what they use to convince you to trade freedom for a promise of safety: "Just give up a bit more freedom and we’ll promise to keep you safe."

(And obviously, you aren't trying to imply that I am afraid, because that wouldn't make sense given the discussion other than as a vague ad hominem.)

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Yes, I'm more concerned about the joe who steals billions through financial fraud, shuts down his seemingly legally registered company in the middle of the night, and runs free to China where he hides forever. In the largest economy in the world this happens.

So your justification for pervasive facial recognition technology used on all Americans, is to catch the white-collar criminals that are smart enough to steal "billions" and not get caught while doing the theft but just dumb enough so as to be discovered on the way to the airport?

Can you not see what an infinitesimally small set of criminals that is?

Also, you should google images of what a billion dollars in hundreds looks like as you are not understanding how much money that actually is and how incredibly difficult it would be to steal without the help of a government entity.

 

[scavengerspc]

Good. As I pointed out in my post, fear is what they use to convince you to trade freedom for a promise of safety: "Just give up a bit more freedom and we’ll promise to keep you safe."

(And obviously, you aren't trying to imply that I am afraid, because that wouldn't make sense given the discussion other than as a vague ad hominem.)

So what you are saying is we have the same goals but simply differ in how to achieve them?
If so then ok, that's cool.