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US Officials Retreat on Possible Facial Screening of US Citizens

Associated Press

   DALLAS, TEXAS - The Homeland Security Department is backing away from
   requiring that U.S. citizens submit to facial-recognition technology
   when they leave or enter the country.

   The department said Thursday that it hadno plans to expand facial
   recognition to U.S. citizens. A spokesman said DHS woulddelete the idea
   from its regulatory agenda, where privacy advocates spotted it this
   week.

   The advocates and lawmakers accused DHS of reneging on repeated
   promises not to force American citizens to be photographed leaving or
   entering the United States, a process that is required for foreign
   visitors.

   SenatorEdward Markey,a Massachusetts Democrat, called the
   administration's retreat ``a victory for every single American traveler
   who flies on a plane.'' He credited public pressure for the about-face.
   He said, however, that he still plannedto introduce legislation to ban
   biometric surveillance of Americans.

   Settled issue?

   Edward Hasbrouck, a privacy advocate who pointed out the proposal, said
   the matter might not be settled.

   ``Was this a trial balloon to find out whether the DHS had finally
   reached the limits of our willingness to be treated like criminals
   whenever we fly?'' he said. ``And if so, has the DHS partially backed
   off, at least for now? Maybe.''

   Customs and Border Protection officials saidthey originally considered
   including U.S. citizens in the biometrics program because having one
   system for Americans and another for foreigners addedcomplexity and
   could compromise security or make lines longer.

   But after meeting with lawmakers and privacy experts--including this
   week--CBPdecided it was better to continue letting Americans opt out.

   Privacy experts have questioned the accuracy of facial recognition
   andhavewarned that personal information could be vulnerable to hackers
   or used improperly by companies holding the data. In response to those
   criticisms, DHS made some changes, including shortening the
   timeitwouldretain photographs from 14 days to 12 hours.

   Facial recognition is used to screen passengers at more than a dozen
   U.S. airports. Some airlines, including Delta and JetBlue, tout it as a
   convenience for passengers who no longer need to show boarding passes
   and identification.

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