TSA is using facial recognition technology

During this holiday season, many of us will be traveling through airports to visit friends, family, and loved ones.

Last summer, the TSA announced a new facial recognition screening system for airports. Earlier this year, I introduced a new bill to stop it called The Traveler Privacy Protection Act.

Here's why: The TSA program, which uses facial recognition to match passengers' faces with their government ID on file, is a slippery slope into a surveillance state. Nothing could be more damaging to our national values of privacy and freedom.

TSA is now using facial recognition technology during the security screening process in airports around the country, and though they say it's optional, I've personally experienced agents making it difficult to opt out.

The bipartisan Traveler Privacy Protection Act aims to guard your privacy and prevent the TSA from using airports as a site to collect Americans' sensitive facial biometric data by:

• Repealing existing authorization for TSA to explore facial recognition technology and require explicit congressional authorization for future use.
• Immediately banning the Transportation Security Administration from expanding its use of facial recognition.
• Requiring TSA to end its facial recognition program and dispose of facial biometrics data within 3 months.

We've seen the damage facial recognition technology does to privacy and to freedom in other countries around the world.

Let's not let it happen here. Let's say no to the TSA using facial recognition in our airports.

Onward!

Jeff