Customs and Border Protection met with privacy advocacy groups to discuss the use of biometrics and facial recognition technology at points of entry and exit in the U.S.
The agency’s Biometric Entry/Exit program has sparked questions from advocacy groups about travelers’ privacy rights, and this is the second discussion CBP has led to share information. Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner Office of Field Operations John Wagner led the discussion, along with CBP Privacy Officer Debra Danisek, which covered the efforts the agency is making to protect all travelers’ privacy while implementing the biometrics technology.
Facial recognition exit technology is in place at eight U.S. airports — Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport, McCarran International Airport, Houston William P. Hobby Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and Miami International Airport — and the integration of boarding facial recognition technology is underway at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and Boston Logan International Airport.
The increasing use of biometrics to screen travelers follows Executive Order 13780, which directs CBP to expedite the completion of a biometric entry exit tracking system for in-scope travelers to the United States.
The agency has also published three Privacy Impact Assessments, which give the public notice of how it will expedite the completion of a biometric entry exit tracking system for in-scope travelers to the United States.
