Oh wow, I had no idea you could opt out. I flew to Paris recently and they were herding people like cattle through CDG and at no point was it clear that there was an opt out. Hell, it wasn’t even obvious I was about to have my face scanned until I stepped into a very claustrophobic chamber, the doors shut behind me, and it told me I needed to scan my face before I could walk out the other side of that chamber. In a moment like that, after being awake for 30 hours because some crotch goblins were screaming the entire flight, trapped in a pod the size of my closet, telling me to stand still and let the techbros steal your faceprint, my personal morals about facial rec were the last thing on my mind.

In theory, an officer is then supposed to manually look over your ID and compare it to your face, as they used to do before facial recognition. But in practice, there have been reports of passengers — even a senator — facing resistance or intimidation when they try to go this route.

The same thing that happens in most cases where a person tries to assert their rights.

The TSA’s goal is to roll out the tech in all of the more than 430 airports that it covers, arguing that this kind of automation would reduce “friction” at airports — meaning, presumably, how long it takes passengers to move through security.

If you’re unhappy about the use of the tech, you can consider generating more friction next time you fly.

Good closing line

I always reject this. The TSA agents are always nice about it.

The last one even explained to my peers why one might want to refuse facial recognition.

“if you’re unhappy about having your face scanned, opt out and make a painful process even more painful!”

I get what they’re saying, but sometimes it just isn’t with the effort. I moved 1300 miles away from my family (single, no kids) so I fly pretty frequently now. I can get through Fort Lauderdale airport, which is pretty big in ten minutes from the curb to my gate…and that’s with like 50-100 people in line with me.

I’m also a 38 year old white guy so it’s a US citizen with no criminal record, so that makes it easier compared to someone that looks Middle Eastern. My friends are Italian-American, but look Middle Eastern and have definitely been “randomly selected” before though.