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The TSA likes facial recognition at airports. Passengers and politicians, not so much
US lawmakers are trying to extend the use of facial recognition at airports, despite many airline passengers objecting to the practice.
US airports have used facial scanners since 2017, when the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) started trials of the tech in the hope it would improve security and speed boarding times. 250 airports currently use facial recognition.
According to a May 2025 report [PDF] by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), facial recognition at airports is accurate.
The report cites National Institute of Standards and Technology research that fewer than one percent of recognition attempts produced a false positive or false negative - considerably better than many biometric identifiers.
Despite that accuracy, and the chance to opt out of using facial recognition, many passengers don’t like it.
A July report [PDF] from the non-profit Algorithmic Justice League (AJL) found airport staff offered just one percent of travelers the chance to opt out.
Some of those who chose to opt out reported poor experiences.
"I got in line for security and presented my driver’s license to the agent. The agent asked me to stand in front of the camera," reported one passenger at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport last year.
"Knowing my rights, I asked if I could opt out of the photo. The agent got angry, raising his voice to tell me that 'we already took your picture 'and that there are 'a thousand cameras in this airport…there’s a camera in your phone too.'"
US airports have used facial scanners since 2017, when the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) started trials of the tech in the hope it would improve security and speed boarding times. 250 airports currently use facial recognition.
According to a May 2025 report [PDF] by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), facial recognition at airports is accurate.
The report cites National Institute of Standards and Technology research that fewer than one percent of recognition attempts produced a false positive or false negative - considerably better than many biometric identifiers.
Despite that accuracy, and the chance to opt out of using facial recognition, many passengers don’t like it.
A July report [PDF] from the non-profit Algorithmic Justice League (AJL) found airport staff offered just one percent of travelers the chance to opt out.
Some of those who chose to opt out reported poor experiences.
"I got in line for security and presented my driver’s license to the agent. The agent asked me to stand in front of the camera," reported one passenger at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport last year.
"Knowing my rights, I asked if I could opt out of the photo. The agent got angry, raising his voice to tell me that 'we already took your picture 'and that there are 'a thousand cameras in this airport…there’s a camera in your phone too.'"
https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/31/tsa_facial_recognition/?td=rt-3a]
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