US Citizens Could Be Forced to Use Facial-Recognition Technology at Airports

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans for a new proposal that would require all travelers to be photographed as part of a new identification system that utilizes facial-recognition technology.

According to The Associated Press, officials from the DHS said the proposal would require American citizens to go through the same process as international travelers and will officially be published in July 2020. The agency would not offer any additional details about the plan.

The concept has already drawn the ire of government officials, including Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey, who announced his intention to introduce legislation to block the plan. He cited recent issues with a data breach at Customs and Border Protection that showed the agency couldn’t “be trusted with the information.”

The DHS and several airlines in the United States have been implementing facial recognition technology to confirm the identity of international travelers, but the government is looking to expand the concept to all airline passengers to prevent the fraudulent use of travel documents.

While DHS officials understand the concerns about privacy risks, they said the issues are “mostly mitigated” thanks to the photographs being used to identify travelers getting deleted within 12 hours of being taken.

Policy analyst for the American Civil Liberties Union, Jay Stanley, said the DHS has been adamant in the past the technology would not be used on American citizens, but the change of heart is a major concern for travelers.

“This new notice suggests that the government is reneging on what was already an insufficient promise,” Stanley told The AP. “Travelers, including U.S. citizens, should not have to submit to invasive biometric scans simply as a condition of exercising their constitutional right to travel.”