There have been many recent stories about Transportation Security Administration (TSA) capture of the facial images of travelers, an outgrowth of the same post-9/11 concerns that resulted in REAL IDs in 2008…I mean 2025. (Maybe.)
One story from HuffPost clearly states its view on the matter. The title of the story? “Why You Can (And Should) Opt Out Of TSA Facial Recognition Right Now.”
I guess we know where HuffPost stands.
As to the “why” of its stance, here’s a succinct statement:
“Do you really want to be submitting a face scan to the current U.S. government?”
And perhaps there are good reasons to distrust the Trump Administration, or any administration.
After all, the TSA says it only retains the picture for a limited time: “Photos are not stored or saved after a positive ID match has been made, except in a limited testing environment for evaluation of the effectiveness of the technology,”
But maybe…something happens. Someone accidentally forgot to delete the files. Oops.
And if something happens, the federal government has just captured an image of your face!
Guess what? The federal government can probably already get an image of your face, even if you don’t allow TSA to take your photo.
After all, you had to show some sort of identification when you arrived at that TSA checkpoint. Maybe you showed a passport, with a picture that the U.S. State Department received at one point. No, they don’t retain them either. But maybe…something happens.
But who does retain an image of your face?
Your state driver’s license agency. And as of 2019:
“Twenty-one states currently allow federal agencies such as the FBI to run searches of driver’s license and identification photo databases.”
So if a federal agency wants your facial image, it can probably obtain it even if you decline the TSA photo request.
Unless you strictly follow Amish practices. But in that case you probably wouldn’t be going through a TSA checkpoint anyway.
But if you are with a facial recognition company, and you want your prospects and their prospects to understand how your solution protects their privacy…
Bredemarket can help:
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Book a call: https://bredemarket.com/cpa/
(Security checkpoint picture generated by Imagen 3)
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