Facial recognition surveillance is here — but privacy protections are not

On Wednesday, Congress held a hearing on the “problem of visa overstays” focusing, in large part, on the use of biometrics to address this problem.

In a little publicized section of Trump’s Immigration Executive Order, the president ordered Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to “expedite the completion and implementation of a biometric entry exit tracking system.” The purpose of the tracking system is to confirm who is entering and exiting the country to, for example, identify people who have overstayed their visas. Congress has already provided up to a billion dollars over the next ten years to implement the program.

This is a massive effort to implement a biometric surveillance program that poses serious risks to our privacy and civil liberties. The increasing use of biometric data requires a meaningful look at how we should regulate the collection, use, dissemination, and retention of biometric information and implement the necessary safeguards to prevent biometrics from becoming the basis of a mass surveillance program. A large-scale biometric surveillance program would allow the government to identify whoever they want, when they want, without the person’s knowledge or consent, and without a reason for doing so.

Currently, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the component of DHS responsible for implementing the Biometric Entry-Exit program, has run a series of pilots to test the program. In 2015, CBP ran a facial recognition pilot to test the use of the technology on travelers entering the country. CBP is currently expanding pilots that test the use of facial recognition on travelers exiting the country.

Last year, CBP started testing part of the biometric exit program known as the Traveler Verification Service (TVS) at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport. The agency will now expand the initial implementation of TVS to Washington Dulles International Airport and Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport this summer.

CBP is also partnering with airlines like JetBlue and Delta to implement face recognition technology at various points in airports. JetBlue is running a self-boarding program using facial recognition in lieu of checking boarding passes. Delta aims to use facial recognition as part of baggage drop off.

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