The TSA, Facial Recognition In Airports, and Your Rights

An unsettling announcement reverberates through the bustling boarding area of the airport. Passengers will be ushered onto their flight not with the customary passport scanners, but with facial recognition technology.

The privacy-centric traveler in question, like many of us, is keen to avoid this form of surveillance. Despite Federal agencies and airlines framing facial recognition as an opt-out system, the reality speaks a different language. The process to avoid a facial scan and opt for a passport scan is convoluted and time-consuming, requiring passengers to disrupt their boarding process, seek a representative, and then rejoin the boarding line.