PUBLIC CITIZEN somehow it is 1984 and 2023 at the same time

Big Brother really is watching you.

The Transportation Security Administration is rolling out facial recognition technology in America’s airports.

In fact, the head of the TSA recently said that the agency intends for “biometrics” such as facial recognition technology to eventually be mandatory for air travel in the U.S.

Facial recognition technology is notoriously inaccurate. A landmark study by government researchers in 2019 found that the faces of Black, Brown, and Asian individuals are up to 100 times more likely to be misidentified than those of white men.

It also seems worth noting that in 2015, TSA officers failed to catch as much as 95% of weapons and explosives smuggled through airport security checkpoints by undercover agents. Does facial recognition technology spot guns? (It does not.)

There is no reason to believe that facial recognition technology will do anything to improve security.

If the government can scan your face at the airport, it can store that image indefinitely, it can share that image with other government (or maybe even corporate) entities, its databases can be hacked, and it can track you wherever you go.

Tell TSA Administrator David Pekoske:

Facial recognition technology and other biometrics are a bridge too far. These technologies are far too imperfect and far too intrusive. Immediately and permanently suspend the Transportation Security Administration’s plans to use facial recognition technology and other biometrics in America’s airports.

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For progress,

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen