EFF legal intern Gabrielle Ladun was the principal author of this post. The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) has published a summary of findings from its audit of the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) facial recognition technology. While the...
If you are at a US airport, you will be made to feel like you need to scan your face. The TSA agent will say, “look at the camera” like there’s no choice. You don’t need to. Always just say “opt-out.” That’s all you need to do.
They will check your ID and use their eyeballs to compare it to your face, taking all of 10 extra seconds, and safeguarding your privacy a little bit more.
These types of security issues are inevitable, and the only way to win this game is to not play.
From the article:
But now if you do scan you get a brand new no touch Id line that’s even shorter.
As I witnessed today, even just stating that you are opting out is not enough. You must ensure, of your own accord, that the camera is not directed at you when you approach the TSA agent, or else it will automatically photograph you.
Ever since they introduced the facial recognition software I have opted out. I always approach the station at an angle if possible or with my passport between the camera and my face if not. Then when thy ask me to step in front of the camera a simple “No, thank you” has always worked. Polite yet firm and they hand me back my passport and away I go. It’s pretty much always faster.
Every so often you get a dickhead that makes a show of it taking longer to verifying it by their own eyeballs.
That being said, if you a flying internationally anymore, your picture at least will be taken when you enter.
I wear an N95 mask and only remove it after opting out. Yes, good advice for sure.
Unfortunately I wasn’t born with enough privilege to attempt to question a tsa agent. I get randomly selected enough as it is.
before I started being openly transgender… I never got that “randomly selected extra screening” not even after my surgery which had me on crutches.
now… I always get that random screening. every time. and my legs are a bit bowed. so they always bitch about my legs not being perfectly straight even when I’m wearing shorts and they can see my knees. and the white dust that I always pick up leaning against airport walls… is always magically drugs even when the dog doesn’t react.
I empathize and if that’s the way you feel, that’s understandable.
But I’d recommend to try it, even if your feelings suggest it’s just going to make trouble. As noted, there is an explicit non-discretionary optional policy for it and TSA agents - even if they’re trying to make the photo seem like the only choice - get a ton of opt-outs every day and it’s probably not going to (for the moment) trigger retribution. (I say this traveling with non-white people and never seeing them get secondarily screened later in the process, or more so than me anyway - but yes, I’m speaking from a place of privilege so could be wrong.)
Not every country lets you opt out though unfortunately, so you’re fucked no matter what.
Yes, agree - domestic flights are the only ones you can control. But note you can opt-out at least on the US TSA side and boarding side even on international flights.
I opt out every time and without fail get “randomly” selected for additional screening, for this I always give them double birds during the additional screening.
I opt out every time and have never gotten randomly selected for additional screening. Maybe you’re getting profiled in another way?
Possibly, although I doubt it. I’m your average white guy with pre-check using a Global Entry ID. So I got all their extra vetting done and I suspect this is just harassment for knowing my rights.
I fuck with airport security screens as much as possible. My latest is to show up an hour early with a couple of butter knives I ‘borrowed’ from previous flights. I have a collection from airlines from around the world so I match my upcoming carrier when I can. Watching those apes struggle to verify if my completely blunt, clearly approved butter knives are somehow restricted is worth the lost time.
My favorite is when they claim they’re forbidden and I get to pose the obvious objection: if they’re restricted due to posing a safety hazard, why is it acceptable that I’ll get one anyhow on my upcoming flight? How is that identical butter knife safer?