Can We Opt Out of Facial Recognition Technology?

"In the fall, my partner and I took two cross-country flights in quick succession. The potential dangers of flying, exacerbated by a few high-profile plane crashes earlier in the year, seemed to subside in the national consciousness. There were other tragedies and failures to worry about. Still, the ordeal of flying necessitates the ordeal of passing through airport security, one of the United States's most glaring, and frustrating, post-9/11 bureaucratic slogs."

"the irrevocability of the TSA, much like other government acronyms (FBI, CIA, DHS), had become so firmly established as to seem eternal. I remember, in 2006, when it was announced, after a liquid bomb threat in London, that liquids in bags would be restricted to the size of a 3.4 ounce container and shoe removal would become mandatory. I remember the beginning of TSA PreCheck, and the implementation of full body scanners."

"On our first fall trip, my partner and I just happened to be flying on 9/11. "Happened to" is inaccurate; we chose to fly on that date given how, according to our logic, the lingering superstition of plane hijackings would result in fewer people buying plane tickets, and thus presumably shorter security lines and less crowded flights. Maybe in previous years this would have been the case. On this year's 9/11, there were as many travelers as there had ever seemed to be."

Facial scanning has become a regular security requirement at airports and sports stadiums. Travel included two cross‑country flights and repeated encounters with biometric checks. Post‑9/11 measures evolved from liquid limits and shoe removal to TSA PreCheck and full‑body scanners, and facial scans joined the security procedures. A decision to fly on 9/11 did not yield lighter travel; airport crowds remained large. Security checkpoints now routinely include an agent requesting ID and a camera‑based facial capture. One traveler requested that his photograph not be taken at the camera, illustrating emerging tensions over biometric screening.

Read at The Nation