US surveillance watchdog says expanded use of facial recognition at airports should be voluntary

The U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) has released findings from a six-year probe of facial recognition technology (FRT) usage at airport checkpoints, concluding that more transparency is needed and procedures should be improved to further protect the data privacy of passengers and accuracy of results.

In recent years, the use of FRT at airport checkpoints has exploded, prompting a bipartisan congressional bill introduced by lawmakers who expressed alarm about what they called unchecked surveillance. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) plans to expand the use of FRT to 430 airports nationally and “eventually make it mandatory,” according to a one-pager released by Sen. Jeff Merkely, a bill sponsor.

The PCLOB report stressed that participation in the FRT program must remain optional.

Read more at The Record