Controversial Facial Recognition Software Has Been Implemented At Airports Across America – How Will Travelers Respond?

With all the craziness of the holiday travel season, punctuated by the Southwest Airlines meltdown, you’d be forgiven if you missed the fact that facial recognition software is being deployed at airports across America.

In December, the TSA began testing facial recognition software at 16 airports, including Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Washington, and Los Angeles.

Though it is still voluntary, the idea is for electronic kiosks to perform the security check-in tasks currently overseen by human beings (aka, TSA agents).

Currently, the testing program requires you to insert your ID into the kiosk, which then scans your face and compares it to the photo ID.

In the future, the goal would be to eliminate the need to present an ID at the airport entirely, reports say, by comparing your facial scan to photos and personal information it already has on file from other official documents, including your passport and driver license.

Facial recognition software is highly controversial, however, with some cities, like San Francisco, banning it entirely. As with any new technology, there are concerns about its potential misuse or overreach, and for its civil rights and biometric data storage implications.

Officially, travelers are able to “opt out” of using facial recognition technology during this trial phase; however, reports from travelers who have attempted to opt out suggest that it’s not always that easy.

The goal of the program is to eventually implement and utilize facial recognition software at every airport in an attempt to both speed up and tighten the security process. The TSA says that this could happen as soon as this year if all goes smoothly with testing.

Airlines themselves could also adapt the technology, scanning passenger’s faces instead of a boarding pass (we’ve encountered trial versions of this).

Folks who have traveled internationally in the past few years are already aware that many airports utilize kiosks that take your picture at international arrival checkpoints.

How this plays out will depend on a number of things, including passenger feedback, but mostly legal pushback when it comes to data storage and personal privacy.

But, don’t be surprised if you encounter the technology on one of your next trips here in 2023.