Until the US Biometric Exit Program prioritizes privacy and resolves technical and legal shortcomings, airport travelers should opt out of facial recognition
Last month, I was at Detroit's Metro Airport for a connecting flight to Southeast Asia. I listened as a Delta Air Lines staff … Tweets: @getdatacy , @wired , @laurenmurrow , @nxthompson , @tajhalanier , @cfidd , @alfunk , and @nicholasadeleon Tweets: Datacy / @getdatacy : CBP officials recently revealed that thousands of photos of people's faces and license plates were compromised after a cyberattack on a federal subcontractor. One cannot simply alter their face like they can their phone number or email address. https://www.wired.com/... @wired : Opinion: The Department of Homeland Security reports that the facial recognition program being used at airports will be able to scan 97% of commercial air passengers departing the US by 2023. Here's why you should avoid the tech if you can: https://www.wired.com/... Lauren Murrow / @laurenmurrow : Flying this weekend? In at least 17 airports—at airlines including Delta, JetBlue, American Airlines, and others—you may be confronted with facial recognition scanners before boarding. Here's why you should opt out, writes @alfunk. https://www.wired.com/... via @WIRED Opinion Nicholas Thompson / @nxthompson : It's not that easy to opt out of facial recognition at airports. But you're giving up an awful lot of data when you opt-in. https://www.wired.com/... Tajha Sophia Chappellet-Lanier / @tajhalanier : “Proponents of these programs often argue that facial recognition in airports promotes security while providing convenience. But abandoning privacy should not be a prerequisite for achieving security.” https://www.wired.com/... Fiddler / @cfidd : “Federal agencies & airlines claim that facial recognition is an opt-out system, but my experience suggests they are incentivizing travelers to have their faces scanned—and disincentivizing them to sidestep the tech” by not communicating alternatives Scary https://www.wired.com/... Allie Funk / @alfunk : I wrote for @WIRED my experience trying to opt-out of @Delta's facial recognition boarding process. Surprise: it wasn't that easy. It's time we ground facial recognition in airports. https://www.wired.com/... Nicholas De Leon / @nicholasadeleon : “This suggests that, for women and people of color, facial recognition could actually cause an increase in the likelihood to be unfairly targeted for additional screening measures.” https://www.wired.com/...