{"id":7943,"date":"2017-12-29T11:41:00","date_gmt":"2017-12-29T16:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/statescoop.scpnewsgrp.com\/facial-recognition-technology-deployed-by-feds-at-9-airports-draws-skepticism\/"},"modified":"2021-09-03T14:00:41","modified_gmt":"2021-09-03T18:00:41","slug":"facial-recognition-technology-deployed-by-feds-at-9-airports-draws-skepticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/statescoop.com\/facial-recognition-technology-deployed-by-feds-at-9-airports-draws-skepticism\/","title":{"rendered":"Facial recognition technology deployed by feds at 9 airports draws skepticism"},"content":{"rendered":"

International airports in nine U.S.\u00a0cities could now face\u00a0legal action after screening passengers with facial recognition software.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology reports<\/a>\u00a0that airports for Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Houston, Miami, New York and Washington, D.C., have begun using the technology, deployed by the\u00a0Department of Homeland Security (DHS),\u00a0to identify accused criminals of\u00a0attempting to exit the U.S. using fake identities.<\/p>\n

The software was funded with more than one\u00a0billion dollars in congressional\u00a0appropriations for fighting crime and terrorism, but\u00a0the new\u00a0report calls\u00a0the technology\u2019s use on American citizens\u00a0legally questionable<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In each of\u00a0the nine airports, passengers are instructed to stand in front of security cameras that compare facial features with those in a biometric database from DHS. The report\u2019s authors say\u00a0this activity could initiate\u00a0class action lawsuits.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongress has repeatedly ordered the collection of biometrics from foreign nationals at the border, but has never clearly authorized the border collection of biometrics from American citizens using face recognition technology,\u201d the report says. \u201cWithout explicit authorization, DHS should not be scanning the faces of Americans as they depart on international flights \u2014 but DHS is doing it anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement to StateScoop, DHS said that the technology is still under evaluation and “for purposes of these initial technical demonstrations, U.S. citizen participation is not required and alternative procedures are available.” It added that it\u00a0conducted public outreach with privacy groups in August\u00a0and as a result of these discussions\u00a0has produced signs that alert Americans they have a right to decline being scanned.<\/p>\n

“If a U.S. citizen is concerned about participating in the technical demonstrations, a traveler need only let a CBP officer or airline gate agent know and their documents will be reviewed to ensure they are the true bearer of the passport that is being presented,” DHS\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

Even so, the agency acknowledged that in the future Americans could be required to participate in the process if it is\u00a0adopted nationwide.<\/p>\n

The report says\u00a0that\u00a0federal law requires DHS to start\u00a0a\u00a0rulemaking process\u00a0that would include the opportunity for greater public feedback. DHS acknowledged it had not completed this process, but said it was “working to meet the Congressional mandate.”<\/p>\n

The report\u00a0urges\u00a0DHS to suspend all facial scanning until it can provide evidence that the technology is effective. A 2016 report from the Government Accountability Office<\/a> highlighted a lack of research into whether biometric scanning can achieve the desired security benefits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A 2012 analysis from DHS\u2019s own Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) expresses doubt that the service would provide significant improvements over current measures and whether the benefit of a national deployment of biometric cameras would justify the costs, estimated at more than $1 billion. Since the 2012 analysis, the S&T has not updated its findings.<\/p>\n

Looking at error rates, S&T was also concerned. It found that face scanning technology used by DHS makes frequent mistakes, rejecting as many as one in 25 travelers with valid credentials \u2014 a rate that would cause more than 1,600 passengers at New York\u2019s John F. Kennedy International Airport to be delayed or denied entry to their flights.<\/p>\n

In its statement,\u00a0DHS said Georgetown’s\u00a0claims were not\u00a0entirely\u00a0accurate.<\/p>\n

“CBP has a rigorous process in place to review data and metrics associated with biometric exit matching performance and the demonstrations have a matching rate in the high 90 percentile,” DHS\u00a0said.\u00a0“Travelers are not prevented from boarding as a result of facial recognition mismatch for purposes of these technical demonstrations.”<\/p>\n

Still, the Georgetown\u00a0report\u00a0also weighs in on\u00a0the broader\u00a0issues of privacy expectations and excessive government surveillance. Researchers questioned how the biometric data collected from residents would be used afterward. Would it be used to identify protesters, be aggregated in a national biometric database, or allow tech vendors contracted by the government to gain access?\u00a0The researchers said all of these issues were potentially problematic.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs currently envisioned, the program represents a serious escalation of biometric scanning of Americans, and there are no codified rules that constrain it,\u201d the\u00a0researchers say. \u201cIt may also lead to an even greater and more privacy-invasive government surveillance system. …\u00a0DHS\u2019 airport face scans raise important questions about the expansion of government tracking tools in public spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Editor’s\u00a0Note:\u00a0This story was updated in the afternoon of Dec.\u00a029, 2017 to reflect additional comments from the U.S.\u00a0Department of Homeland Security.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology says privacy issues with the technology may justify legal action by travelers and privacy groups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":39356,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_grayscale_images":true,"grayscale_contrast":0,"sponsored_content":false,"display_author_bio":true,"story_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[20650,20649,20647,20646,4676],"tags":[251,18057,16536,5275,357,4,236,209,190,174,94,51,14,13,12,6],"people":[],"special-report":[],"authors":[4839],"class_list":["post-7943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-data-analytics","category-emerging-tech","category-modernization","category-cybersecurity","category-city","tag-privacy","tag-identity-and-access-management-iam","tag-cybersecurity","tag-data-analytics","tag-facial-recognition","tag-tech-news","tag-information-sharing","tag-critical-infrastructure","tag-transparency","tag-open-government","tag-department-of-homeland-security","tag-emerging-technology","tag-law-enforcement","tag-public-safety","tag-state-local-news","tag-software","author-jason-shueh"],"yoast_head":"\nFacial 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