Passengers leaving the US will have to pass facial recognition scanners at all international...

[William Gayde]

Visa holders looking to board international flights out of the US will soon be required to pass a facial recognition test at all US international airports, The Verge reports. Facial recognition systems at airports have been around since 2015 in a handful of airports around the globe. As part of his first 100-day agenda, Donald Trump has expedited a system that will track every outgoing passenger from the US. The system is currently being tested on a flight from Atlanta to Tokyo with wider adoption to come in the summer.

US Customs and Border Protection has access to photos of all visa holders and those who have entered the into US legally. The new system, called Biometric Exit, will scan each passenger's face before they board their plane out of the US. If they do not appear in the CBP database, that means they may have entered the country illegally. Since photos and other biometric records are kept for all visa holders entering the country, the Biometric Exit system can also be used to determine if a passenger has overstayed their visa.

Congress mandated a Biometric Exit system back in 1996 but it hasn't gained much attention until now. President Trump's executive order on immigration from the seven Muslin-majority nations also included a clause meant to speed up the adoption of this Biometric Exit program. The rollout was originally planned for early 2018 but will likely see major installations this year.

The new plan isn't necessarily being marketed as a security tool since it doesn't stop anyone from entering the country in the first place. It is just a tool to check their status once they leave. Supporters of the plan see it as a simple verification system that does not hinder transportation for those following the laws. Critics on the other hand are worried about potential bias in the algorithm that could create a higher probability of false positives for African Americans and women. Since the algorithms are trained on faces from mostly white subjects, the results can be 5-10% less accurate for other races.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/69005-passengers-leaving-us-have-pass-facial-recognition-scanners.html

 

[Rippleman]

Will look forward to when Canada adopts this practice. Should also be on entry. Exit scanning is also useful though to help apprehend and stop people leaving who are wanted for certain things. I think entry would be infinitely better though.

 

[Igrecman]

Isn't it going to lead to many mistaken identities? It better be accurate because lookalikes are pretty common.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

I'm a bit puzzled as to how this is a beneficial activity? I guess it helps Immigration Service know who isn't here and who they do not have to find to kick out of the country.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I don't have a problem with this and I think it should be adopted for both immigration & emigration on a worldwide basis.

 

[Rippleman]

Isn't it going to lead to many mistaken identities? It better be accurate because lookalikes are pretty common.

Mistaken identity happens now. This could lesson it since it wouldn't be on name alone. Also, if it happens, yes it is regrettable but no system is perfect, take the good with the bad.

 

[Raoul Duke]

I was looking up Canadian government travel advice/advisories for travel to Japan. You need a passport, a return ticket, money sufficient for your stay, confirmed accommodation and your fingerprints will be taken.
I just give this as an example of what other first world countries expect upon arrival. Something like the scanner in the article isn't out of line at all. It just ensures you entered the country legally (I know they take it when you leave, if you aren't in the database, you may have entered illegally)

 

[Capaill]

Muslin? We discriminate based on cotton fabrics now?
And good luck using facial recognition on muslim women.

 

[Uncle Al]

The old saying is that there at 8 people in the world with your exact face, build, weight, etc. ..... so are we going to be getting a tat saying "2 of eight", etc?

 

[Trillionsin]

Yea.... what happens if you fall or get the crap beat out of you? What about boxers? How about when you get your molars removed? All these have the potential to change the shape of your face via swelling, and thus a potential to fail.

Then Uncle Al here has a great point:

The old saying is that there at 8 people in the world with your exact face, build, weight, etc. ..... so are we going to be getting a tat saying "2 of eight", etc?

Yup, there are people who look alike. Brothers, sisters, twins and so forth. blah blahblah

 

[Lionvibez]

Yea.... what happens if you fall or get the crap beat out of you? What about boxers? How about when you get your molars removed? All these have the potential to change the shape of your face via swelling, and thus a potential to fail.

Then Uncle Al here has a great point:

The old saying is that there at 8 people in the world with your exact face, build, weight, etc. ..... so are we going to be getting a tat saying "2 of eight", etc?

Yup, there are people who look alike. Brothers, sisters, twins and so forth. blah blahblah

I don't know about you but after having some major dental work done the last think I want to do is jump on a plane next.

 

[Evernessince]

Yea.... what happens if you fall or get the crap beat out of you? What about boxers? How about when you get your molars removed? All these have the potential to change the shape of your face via swelling, and thus a potential to fail.

Then Uncle Al here has a great point:

The old saying is that there at 8 people in the world with your exact face, build, weight, etc. ..... so are we going to be getting a tat saying "2 of eight", etc?

Yup, there are people who look alike. Brothers, sisters, twins and so forth. blah blahblah

At that point they're likely going to have to do a manual search, which means allot of work. It's kind of redundant IMO. These people already have to present their visa every time they enter the country. It should be pretty obvious if they overstayed or come illegally. FYI illegals aren't going through legitimate channels to begin with. Trump campaigned on improving efficiency and here he is adding more bureaucracy on top of an already inefficient system. I miss the days when Republicans reduced and optimized, not just get rid of laws to spite obama and implement more waste.

 

[Timonius]

With cameras everywhere and in everyone's hands, meh. Social media/engineering is doing a pretty 'good' job at facial recognition (and tagging a location with it yet). This is just playing catch up with the new status quo.