DHS may require US citizens be photographed at airports
| Toronto Star 03 Dec 2019 at 17:30 |
DALLAS - Federal officials are considering requiring that all travellers — including American citizens — be photographed as they enter or leave the country as part of an identification system using facial-recognition technology.
The Department of Homeland Security says it expects to publish a proposed rule next July. Officials did not respond to requests for more details.
Critics are already raising objections.
Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said Tuesday he will introduce legislation to block the plan and prohibit American citizens from being forced to provide facial-recognition information. He said a recent data breach at Customs and Border Protection shows that Homeland Security can’t be trusted with the information.
Federal law requires Homeland Security to put into place a system to use biometrics to confirm the identity of international travellers. Government officials have made no secret of their desire to expand the use of biometrics, which they say could identify potential terrorists.
Jay Stanley, a policy analyst for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the government has told the public and Congress repeatedly that American citizens would be exempt from mandatory biometric screening.
“This new notice suggests that the government is reneging on what was already an insufficient promise,” Stanley said in a statement. “Travellers, including U.S. citizens, should not have to submit to invasive biometric scans simply as a condition of exercising their constitutional right to travel.”
The Department of Homeland Security says it expects to publish a proposed rule next July. Officials did not respond to requests for more details.
Critics are already raising objections.
Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said Tuesday he will introduce legislation to block the plan and prohibit American citizens from being forced to provide facial-recognition information. He said a recent data breach at Customs and Border Protection shows that Homeland Security can’t be trusted with the information.
Federal law requires Homeland Security to put into place a system to use biometrics to confirm the identity of international travellers. Government officials have made no secret of their desire to expand the use of biometrics, which they say could identify potential terrorists.
Jay Stanley, a policy analyst for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the government has told the public and Congress repeatedly that American citizens would be exempt from mandatory biometric screening.
“This new notice suggests that the government is reneging on what was already an insufficient promise,” Stanley said in a statement. “Travellers, including U.S. citizens, should not have to submit to invasive biometric scans simply as a condition of exercising their constitutional right to travel.”
