Democratic Senators call on the TSA to end facial recognition push

Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) wrote a letter to the Transport Security Administration (TSA) asking the agency to stop the deployment of facial recognition technology.

“Increasing biometric surveillance of Americans by the government represents a risk to civil liberties and privacy rights,” the senators wrote.

We obtained a copy of the letter for you here.

The TSA is testing facial recognition technology to screen travelers at 16 major domestic airports. The agency hopes to deploy the technology across the country this year.

Related: The TSA has a biometrics roadmap

“Thousands of people daily are encountering a decision to travel or safeguard their privacy—a decision that threatens our democracy,” the Senators continued. “While TSA claims that facial identification scans are not mandatory, it is unclear how travelers will know that they can ‘opt-out,’ and what the consequences for travelers are if they choose to opt-out.”

The senators also raised the question of security. They asked whether the agency would be able to keep the biometric data safe from hackers. They noted a 2019 data breach where bad actors stole thousands of photos of travelers from the DHS database.

“We urge the Agency to immediately halt its deployment of facial recognition technology,” the letter concluded.

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