How to opt out of airport facial recognition during Thanksgiving travel

This Thanksgiving, 5.84 million people will descend upon America’s airports, en route to reunite with their loved ones. Many of these travelers may be asked for a facial scan when they go through security. 

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) began its controversial facial recognition program in 2020, using biometric technology to match travelers with their identification. Since then, TSA has plotted an expansion to more than 430 airports. TSA insists it doesn’t retain any of the traveler’s information, and participation in the program is in fact voluntary.

Here’s how to opt out of the airport technology.

All you have to do is speak up

Approaching an airport security checkpoint, a TSA agent may ask to scan a passenger’s face, matching the biometric data to that of their driver’s license or passport. But the scan is entirely voluntary, meaning all passengers can verbally opt out. Simply tell the TSA agent that you’d prefer a standard ID check. This requires the agent to verify your ID from their eyes alone—the traditional process before scanners were introduced. 

This also applies to overseas flights. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have a similar policy: Facial scans are voluntary, and citizens can request an opt out directly with a CBP officer. This will require the officer to manually verify your identification. 

Some individual airlines may also ask for a facial scan. Both Delta and United Airlines are currently testing out biometric bag check systems. But airlines are also subject to TSA rules: If customers ask not to have their faces scanned, they must offer a manual verification system. 

What if the TSA officer pushes back?

Airport facial recognition is currently an opt-out system. TSA, CBP, and even the individual airlines will assume that flyers are comfortable with their biometric data being taken unless otherwise expressed. This puts the onus on the traveler—and some have complained that it’s not so easy to secure that standard ID check. 

TikToker YK Hong posted a series of videos in August showing a confrontational TSA agent denying Hong’s request to bypass the scans. The situation escalated, until the agent yelled out, “Sweet Jesus!”

Even Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley has run into problems with the airport tech. After Merkley said no to a scan at Reagan National Airport, a TSA agent told him the manual check would cause a significant delay. (He persisted, and it turned out the traditional verification caused no delay at all.)

While TSA officers may push back, all U.S. citizens are entitled to opt out of biometric scans. If the agent does not offer a traditional ID check on your first request, repeat it again or seek out another agent. 

Why are facial scans so controversial?

Both TSA and CBP void any photos of U.S. citizens within 12 hours of their capture. But that’s not true for non-citizens, whose biometric data can be held. In fact, CBP protocol from 2022 included that non-citizen data be transmitted to multiple federal tracking systems and retained for 75 years to “support of immigration, border management, and law enforcement activities.”

Many activists remain skeptical of these agencies’ commitment to privacy, especially after a 2019 leak. During the initial pilot of the facial recognition system, a subcontractor transferred CBP data to their own network. The subcontractor then faced a data breach, compromising 184,000 traveler images. 

The scanners could also be biased against people of color, who are already disproportionately targeted by the now commonplace full-body scanners. According to a National Institute for Standards and Technology study, these facial scanners had a higher number of false positives for African and Asian Americans, compared to Caucasians.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91232354/how-to-opt-out-of-airport-facial-recognition-during-thanksgiving-travel?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss