TSA undergoes audit probe on the use of biometric technology at airports
The US Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General has launched an audit of the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA’s) use of facial recognition technology at airports in the US.
Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari informed a bipartisan group of US Senators on Friday 31 January that the audit, titled ‘Transportation Security administration’s Modernization of Identity Authentication and Biometric Technology to Enhance Passenger Screening’ would be carried out following a request for such an investigation in November last year, indicating that opting out of the TSA’s facial recognition scheme is both “confusing and intimidating.”
The Senators had asked for systems to be evaluated with a specific investigation into effectiveness and whether it reduced screening delays, stopped known terrorists and led to workforce cuts.
Guffari said the audit will “determine the extent to which TSA’s facial recognition identification technologies enhance security screening to identify persons of interest and authenticate flight traveller information while protecting passenger privacy.”
Since conducting a pilot programme using a system made by Idemia in 2023, the TSA has been leveraging facial recognition technology to screen the estimated 2.9 million passengers passing through airport security every day in the US. The TSA plans to deploy this technology across up to 430 airports over the next decade. One of the issues raised by the Senators is that TSA’s own data shows a 3% false negative rate in identity verification.
Some critics have however called into question whether the investigation will be conducted thoroughly and fairly. According to a report on Biometric Update, Inspector General Cuffari has been embroiled in controversy over allegations of withholding critical oversight reports. While more than a dozen Inspector Generals were fired by President Trump when he took office Cuffari has remained in office.
