U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is lauding Orlando Airport's
plan to process all departing international travelers with facial recognition
technology by this October.
But the plan has privacy advocates in the Senate
concerned.
In a joint statement Friday, Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and
Mike Lee (R-Utah) reiterated earlier calls for the expansion of the biometric
exit program to be halted until the DHS completes a formal rulemaking process. The
Department of Homeland Security has said it plans to begin that process this year, according to the
senators.
"American travelers deserve to know exactly who has
access to their facial recognition data, how their information will be
safeguarded, and how they can opt out of the program altogether," Markey
and Lee wrote.
In a statement Monday, CBP said it has published several
Privacy Impact Statements, is using strong technical security safeguards and
has limited the amount of personally identifiable information used in the
biometric process.
"CBP is committed to its privacy obligations and has
taken steps to safeguard the privacy of all travelers," the agency said.
CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said in a press release
Monday, "We are at a critical turning point in the implementation of a
biometric entry-exit system, and we've found a path forward that transforms
travel for all travelers. The valuable collaboration with stakeholder partners
like the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority has resulted in real momentum and
it has brought us to where we are today, the first fully biometric entry-exit
deployment at an airport."
At Orlando Airport, departing international passengers,
including both foreign visitors to the U.S. and Americans heading abroad, will
have their photo taken by a biometric facial recognition system at their
departure gate. The photo is then matched to passport photos that the
Department of Homeland Security has on file. Processing, says CBP, takes less
than two seconds and has a 99% matching rate.
CBP is also testing biometric entry and exit at 12 other
U.S. airports and ultimately wants to make biometric exit universal at U.S.
airports.
The program is part of a mandate in place from Congress to
collect biometric records on all foreign nationals departing the U.S. But
privacy advocates note that the mandate doesn't apply to American travelers.