Facial Recognition Is Coming to the TSA Security Checkpoints Lanes
Dec 12, 2022, 8:24 am
#16
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Baltimore, MD USA
Programs: Southwest Rapid Rewards. Tha... that's about it.
Posts: 4,332
The FRT ship has sailed in the US. All you need for FRT is an image to compare against a group of other images.
Airports have been saturated by surveillance cameras for decades, giving TSA the images to compare, and the majority of adults in the US have their pics in state databases thanks to driver's licenses and non-driver's IDs.
Being apprehensive about FRT in the US is normal, but the foundations have been laid since long before 9/11. If you have any kind of government issued photo ID in the US, from a passport to a driver's license/non-driver's ID to a Global Entry card to a military or DoD card, your face is in a database, and that database is available to the feds. Even if the database is a state or local database, a federal agency can get into it with a phone call (if they aren't already into it).
So I'm not going to die on this hill. If TSA wants to take my photo and add it to their own database, I can't see how that would affect me any more than the collection of images of me that's already in government hands and the pics of me that get taken automatically every time I walk into an airport terminal.
Airports have been saturated by surveillance cameras for decades, giving TSA the images to compare, and the majority of adults in the US have their pics in state databases thanks to driver's licenses and non-driver's IDs.
Being apprehensive about FRT in the US is normal, but the foundations have been laid since long before 9/11. If you have any kind of government issued photo ID in the US, from a passport to a driver's license/non-driver's ID to a Global Entry card to a military or DoD card, your face is in a database, and that database is available to the feds. Even if the database is a state or local database, a federal agency can get into it with a phone call (if they aren't already into it).
So I'm not going to die on this hill. If TSA wants to take my photo and add it to their own database, I can't see how that would affect me any more than the collection of images of me that's already in government hands and the pics of me that get taken automatically every time I walk into an airport terminal.
Dec 12, 2022, 9:11 am
#17
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: WAS
Programs: enjoyed being warm spit for a few years on CO/UA but now nothing :(
Posts: 2,507
The FRT ship has sailed in the US. All you need for FRT is an image to compare against a group of other images.
Airports have been saturated by surveillance cameras for decades, giving TSA the images to compare, and the majority of adults in the US have their pics in state databases thanks to driver's licenses and non-driver's IDs.
Being apprehensive about FRT in the US is normal, but the foundations have been laid since long before 9/11. If you have any kind of government issued photo ID in the US, from a passport to a driver's license/non-driver's ID to a Global Entry card to a military or DoD card, your face is in a database, and that database is available to the feds. Even if the database is a state or local database, a federal agency can get into it with a phone call (if they aren't already into it).
So I'm not going to die on this hill. If TSA wants to take my photo and add it to their own database, I can't see how that would affect me any more than the collection of images of me that's already in government hands and the pics of me that get taken automatically every time I walk into an airport terminal.
Airports have been saturated by surveillance cameras for decades, giving TSA the images to compare, and the majority of adults in the US have their pics in state databases thanks to driver's licenses and non-driver's IDs.
Being apprehensive about FRT in the US is normal, but the foundations have been laid since long before 9/11. If you have any kind of government issued photo ID in the US, from a passport to a driver's license/non-driver's ID to a Global Entry card to a military or DoD card, your face is in a database, and that database is available to the feds. Even if the database is a state or local database, a federal agency can get into it with a phone call (if they aren't already into it).
So I'm not going to die on this hill. If TSA wants to take my photo and add it to their own database, I can't see how that would affect me any more than the collection of images of me that's already in government hands and the pics of me that get taken automatically every time I walk into an airport terminal.
Dec 12, 2022, 11:01 am
#18
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: BLI or CLT
Programs: The usual suspects
Posts: 1,904
While it's certainly true that our images are likely already preserved in many publicly available files, it seems unwise to now mandate that TSA clerks be empowered to use these images to control our domestic travels. The staff have already demonstrated their difficulty understanding and complying with their own training and regulations.
Dec 12, 2022, 8:17 pm
#19
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Baltimore, MD USA
Programs: Southwest Rapid Rewards. Tha... that's about it.
Posts: 4,332
While it's certainly true that our images are likely already preserved in many publicly available files, it seems unwise to now mandate that TSA clerks be empowered to use these images to control our domestic travels. The staff have already demonstrated their difficulty understanding and complying with their own training and regulations.
The diseases of TSA incompetence and overreach will not be cured by attacking tiny symptoms like TSA accumulating a FRT database, particularly when dozens of other government FRT databases already exist and are already in use. The only cure for the disease of TSA incompetence is enforced competence. The only cure for the disease of TSA overreach is oversight and strictly drawn boundaries.
FRT is more of a red herring than a real symptom.
Dec 12, 2022, 8:56 pm
#20
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: BLI or CLT
Programs: The usual suspects
Posts: 1,904
TSA has had two decades to learn competence and respect for boundaries. Why provide another tool to use incompetently?
Once cockpits were hardened and the practice of "obey the terrorist hijackers" was abandoned, have there been any improved results beyond WTMD + handheld wands + bag X-ray?
Once cockpits were hardened and the practice of "obey the terrorist hijackers" was abandoned, have there been any improved results beyond WTMD + handheld wands + bag X-ray?
Dec 12, 2022, 9:13 pm
#21
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 140
I'm generally opposed to any type of surveillance or anything that could be used for surveillance. I first got Global Entry because I didn't want TSA knowing any more about me than they already do... I put slightly more trust in CBP than TSA.
But when it comes to facial recognition at the airport, I don't see why it even matters. Once you purchase your ticket, your passenger data is checked against law enforcement databases. Once you pass through the security checkpoint, they already know who you are, where you are, and where you are going. You don't even need to show ID anymore, just scan your boarding pass and up pops your picture. I don't see how facial recognition adds to the surveillance that's already going on.
And I do have to say, facial recognition at immigration control is amazingly fast and efficient.
But when it comes to facial recognition at the airport, I don't see why it even matters. Once you purchase your ticket, your passenger data is checked against law enforcement databases. Once you pass through the security checkpoint, they already know who you are, where you are, and where you are going. You don't even need to show ID anymore, just scan your boarding pass and up pops your picture. I don't see how facial recognition adds to the surveillance that's already going on.
And I do have to say, facial recognition at immigration control is amazingly fast and efficient.
Dec 13, 2022, 5:41 am
#22
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Baltimore, MD USA
Programs: Southwest Rapid Rewards. Tha... that's about it.
Posts: 4,332
TSA has had two decades to learn competence and respect for boundaries. Why provide another tool to use incompetently?
Once cockpits were hardened and the practice of "obey the terrorist hijackers" was abandoned, have there been any improved results beyond WTMD + handheld wands + bag X-ray?
Once cockpits were hardened and the practice of "obey the terrorist hijackers" was abandoned, have there been any improved results beyond WTMD + handheld wands + bag X-ray?
FRT is a red herring that only diverts our attention from the next giant tech boondoggle like AIT replacements or invasive practice like gate searches.
Dec 13, 2022, 12:59 pm
#23
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: BLI or CLT
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Posts: 1,904
I'm not wasting time or energy on opposing FRT, as it already exists and is widely used. I've voiced my objections to the next round of "new best thing" which either provides corporate boondoggles or employment programs for the otherwise unemployable.
We don't need and more FRT or high-tech replacements or more make-work such as gate inspections - indeed, diversion and a waste of money. I think we should return to low tech at the security checkpoint - WTMD, hand-wanding and bag Xray. Identity check protects the revenues of airlines, it's their concern, not the government who received all that information when the ticket was purchased.
We don't need and more FRT or high-tech replacements or more make-work such as gate inspections - indeed, diversion and a waste of money. I think we should return to low tech at the security checkpoint - WTMD, hand-wanding and bag Xray. Identity check protects the revenues of airlines, it's their concern, not the government who received all that information when the ticket was purchased.
Dec 13, 2022, 3:46 pm
#24
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Under the Cone of Silence
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It seemed a bit of fantasy back then but you might totally recall the film Running Man with Schwarzenegger where his face and speech were photoshopped regarding the crime of which he was accused? Well, now we have well-documented cases of the jpossibilities with "deep fakes".... Not too difficult to imagine what Alex Jones and crew might have done with Sandy Hook if they were bright and low enough. Art becomes reality.
In The Running Man the government didn't alter his image or speech, they just selectively edited the video to make it appear he was *committing* a crime instead of *refusing* to commit one.
But later, they DID photoshop his image onto another person in a video to make the public believe he had been killed.
But your point is well taken....
May 15, 2023, 12:26 pm
#25
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 20,639
TSA tests facial recognition technology to boost airport security
A passenger walks up to an airport security checkpoint, slips an ID card into a slot and looks into a camera atop a small screen. The screen flashes “Photo Complete” and the person walks through — all without having to hand over their identification to the TSA officer sitting behind the screen.
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The technology is currently in 16 airports. In addition to Baltimore, it’s being used at Reagan National near Washington, D.C., airports in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Jose, and Gulfport-Biloxi and Jackson in Mississippi. However, it’s not at every TSA checkpoint so not every traveler going through those airports would necessarily experience it.
Travelers put their driver’s license into a slot that reads the card or place their passport photo against a card reader. Then they look at a camera on a screen about the size of an iPad, which captures their image and compares it to their ID. The technology is both checking to make sure the people at the airport match the ID they present and that the identification is in fact real. A TSA officer is still there and signs off on the screening.
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The technology is currently in 16 airports. In addition to Baltimore, it’s being used at Reagan National near Washington, D.C., airports in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Jose, and Gulfport-Biloxi and Jackson in Mississippi. However, it’s not at every TSA checkpoint so not every traveler going through those airports would necessarily experience it.
Travelers put their driver’s license into a slot that reads the card or place their passport photo against a card reader. Then they look at a camera on a screen about the size of an iPad, which captures their image and compares it to their ID. The technology is both checking to make sure the people at the airport match the ID they present and that the identification is in fact real. A TSA officer is still there and signs off on the screening.
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May 16, 2023, 10:08 am
#26
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Baltimore, MD USA
Programs: Southwest Rapid Rewards. Tha... that's about it.
Posts: 4,332
All I'm concerned with is how well it works, whether it gets me through the TDC more efficiently than a human check, and how much it's going to increase the already bloated budget of TSA.
Frankly, I like the idea of relying less on the judgement of human TSOs, given how questionable that judgement has historically been. Automated TDC, automated bin return, even automated one-way exits from the sterile area, will all reduce the number of humans in the system, improving throughput during busy times because staff shortages won't slow things down.
Frankly, I like the idea of relying less on the judgement of human TSOs, given how questionable that judgement has historically been. Automated TDC, automated bin return, even automated one-way exits from the sterile area, will all reduce the number of humans in the system, improving throughput during busy times because staff shortages won't slow things down.
May 17, 2023, 8:10 am
#27
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Arizona, USA
Posts: 2,403
I quite like facial recognition. I think it's great for aircraft boarding because it is so much faster.
I have not had it often for TSA "document checks" but it's nice when they do have it.
It means that nobody has to fumble around for ID, the right screen on a phone, no meaningless "highlighter" markings, no opportunities to "say your name."
The entire ID check seems to be of no value from a security standpoint, but they can at least make it quicker.
It will also mean the end of "Clear," which is not technologically advanced because one still has to scan a boarding card. At least they're usually really friendly.
The only downside is that I hate looking at photos of myself, but I suppose I can avert my eyes.
I have not had it often for TSA "document checks" but it's nice when they do have it.
It means that nobody has to fumble around for ID, the right screen on a phone, no meaningless "highlighter" markings, no opportunities to "say your name."
The entire ID check seems to be of no value from a security standpoint, but they can at least make it quicker.
It will also mean the end of "Clear," which is not technologically advanced because one still has to scan a boarding card. At least they're usually really friendly.
The only downside is that I hate looking at photos of myself, but I suppose I can avert my eyes.
May 18, 2023, 10:00 am
#28
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Chicago
Posts: 11,513
The more interesting stuff has nothing to do with the inserting an ID into a machine like the linked article recently posted, but is rather this pilot program, and the ways in which it could be expanded-- no physical ID required: https://news.delta.com/deltas-exclus...curity-atlanta
It seems like this concept could be adapted to cover every person who has a current US Passport, Green Card or Visa, irrespective of 'trusted traveler' program membership.
It seems like this concept could be adapted to cover every person who has a current US Passport, Green Card or Visa, irrespective of 'trusted traveler' program membership.
May 18, 2023, 9:50 pm
#30
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