"SFO is one of the first airports to get Clear's new real-time biometric eGates security system in partnership with the TSA, which was announced just weeks after the agency surreptitiously helped kill a crucial bill regulating facial recognition software. As SFGate reports, the Transportation Security Administration announced a private partnership with Clear back in August in which the agency will be implementing Clear's expedited eGate checkpoint system at select airports."
"The new eGate technology, which is currently only available to Clear Plus members who shell out $199 per year, captures a live photo of the traveler at the gate and compares it with their physical identification and boarding pass, all without a human operator. Clear wrote in a social media post that eGates are currently available at two airports SFO and Buffalo, New York, with plans for launches at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport next month, per USA Today. The move is in anticipation of streamlining the influx of travelers heading to the upcoming 2026 World Cup events, several of which will be held at Santa Clara's Levi's Stadium, per SFGate."
"We are proud to help make America's airports great ahead of the World Cup. The U.S. should be leading on security, hospitality, and the travel experience, Clear CEO Caryn Seidman Becker said in an August press release. While Clear says users' live photos are deleted immediately after they're sent to the TSA, the company does store users' initial sign-up photos, per the Washington Post. The use of biometric technology raises red flags for a lot of security advocates, especially considering Clear's privacy policy says it will turn over user data to government agencies and law enforcement when requested. As Adam Schwartz, the privacy litigation director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) told the Post back in 2023, biometric technology makes users particularly vulnerable to identity theft."
The Transportation Security Administration partnered privately with Clear to pilot Clear's expedited eGate checkpoint system at select airports, including SFO and Buffalo, with launches planned at Reagan National and Seattle-Tacoma. The eGates capture a live photo at the gate and compare it with the traveler's physical ID and boarding pass without a human operator. The feature is currently available only to Clear Plus members at $199 per year. Clear states live photos are deleted after transmission to the TSA but retains users' initial sign-up photos and may share data with government or law enforcement. Privacy advocates warn of heightened identity-theft risk and note the TSA helped halt facial-recognition regulation.
Read at sfist.com
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