Opt out of TSA facial recognition
I remember back in the day when the Patriot Act was introduced after 9/11 and the Transportation Security Administration – TSA created Gestapo checkpoints at each airport. Until recently, we had to show some sort of official ID and our boarding pass. We are now introduced to facial recognition screening machines set directly in front of the TSA staff. They tell you to look into it while you slide your ID into another device.
I’ve researched enough to know they are overstepping their boundaries and my privacy. My reaction when I approached was to tell them that I was not doing this. They said okay, took my ID and boarding pass, looked at me, and handed both items back to me. They said thank you, and I was on my way.
My point in writing this is to inform you and for you to share this with others who are unaware that they can opt out of it. The TSA certainly won’t mention it to you.
Trust in the Three Letter Agencies is Now a Thing of the Past
According to the Transportation Security Administration – TSA website, a traveler may voluntarily agree to use their face to verify their identity by presenting their physical identification or passport during the screening process. The facial recognition technology TSA uses helps ensure the person standing at the checkpoint is the same person pictured on the identification document (ID) credential. 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.
So, millions, if not billions, of our taxpayer dollars go toward these machines to only be used as an overpriced magnifying glass? I think not!
What Congress Has To Say About This
Senate Bill S. 3361: Traveler Privacy Protection Act of 2023
Fliers can opt out, though they’d still have to use an alternate identification verification measure — like the preexisting ones that travelers have used for years or decades.
However, many fliers remain unaware they even have the option to opt-out. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) posted a video in September to X, formerly Twitter, documenting the lack of signage indicating an opt-out option at the facial scanners in D.C.’s Reagan Airport.
Now, he’s introduced a bill to ban the practice entirely.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) comment about the risk to our privacy facial recognition poses:
“Every day, TSA scans thousands of Americans’ faces without their permission and without making it clear that travelers can opt out of the invasive screening. The Traveler Privacy Protection Act would protect every American from Big Brother’s intrusion by ending the facial recognition program,” said Kennedy.
“The TSA program is a precursor to a full-blown national surveillance state. Nothing could be more damaging to our national values of privacy and freedom. No government should be trusted with this power,” said Merkley.
Despite the TSA’s voluntary plan to implement facial scans at more than 430 U.S. airports, passengers are largely unaware of their ability to opt-out. Moreover, TSA does not effectively display notices at its checkpoints to inform travelers that they have such an option.
To rectify this, the Traveler Privacy Protection Act of 2023 would:
- Require explicit congressional authorization in order for the TSA to use facial recognition technology in the future.
- Immediately ban the TSA from expanding its pilot facial recognition program.
- Require TSA to end its pilot facial recognition program and dispose of facial biometrics.
Sens. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) also cosponsored the legislation.
Comments on Reddit say, “You Should Opt Out Of The TSA’s New Facial Recognition Scans. Here’s How”
So, the next time you’re out in public, take notice of all of the cameras mounted on buildings and streetlight posts as you stroll down any main street. Eventually, this is what they will use to identify you and stop you in your tracks if you haven’t submitted to the latest jab/faux vaccine, didn’t pay taxes of any kind, or even objected to paying a parking ticket.
To learn more about this, please view the video presentation by Technology Engineer Aman Jabbi:
Also, learn more about how this is slowly being implemented closer to home:
The Green Energy Ruse: Massachusetts Mayors’ Real Goal is Smart Cities
What was once a thing you only saw in the movies has now become a reality.
REMEMBER TO ALWAYS OPT OUT OF FACIAL RECOGNITION FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!
by Citizens for Truth Contributor
Massachusetts First 
Leave a comment