Privacy advocates are sounding the alarm over the Transportation Security Administration‘s plan to take its facial recognition program nationwide.

The program already is being used at DFW and 15 other airports.

“This could be a stepping stone to a Chinese-style set of ‘social credits,’ which they use to restrict people’s travel,” says author James Bovard. “This is something the TSA has already been caught doing with some of their watch lists.”
He likens it to the TSA’s misuse of full body scanners.

“The scanners created images that were so detailed it was possible for a TSA agent to see whether a woman had breast implants or whether a guy was circumcised or qualified to be a porn star.”

Bovard also argues the facial recognition software is faulty.

“They have a rate of misidentifying black and Hispanic travelers at a rate of 100 times higher than Caucasian travelers because the facial surveillance software is not nearly as reliable for people who are part of minority groups.”