The Port of Seattle Commission has identified three main concerns about facial recognition technology: privacy, equity, and customer experience.
Privacy
Any digital system is subject to potential hacking or data breach. The Port, airlines, and the CBP all comply with detailed privacy standards, but the reality is that no technology is 100 percent protected. Because your data is collected by CBP, there is also no guarantee that it won’t be shared with other federal agencies or law enforcement, within the guidelines of their legal authority to do so. However, CBP is bound by federal law to comply with certain privacy rules; more information can be found on those policies at the CBP Website.
CBP already collects comprehensive data on international travelers provided by airlines, including full name, gender, and country of passport issuance. CBP also has your photograph from your passport or visa application, and so the only additional datapoint from this screening is the picture taken at the airport used to match to that photo. CBP does not retain the images of U.S. citizens once their identities are verified; however, photos of non-U.S. citizens are retained.
Equity
Significant research has shown that facial recognition technology is better at identifying white males than women and people of color. Mismatches can cause discomfort, embarrassment, and fear for travelers, especially people of color or other groups who are already subject to the impacts of institutional racism and discrimination. The feeling of being profiled or discriminated against causes real harm for those individuals.
The Port of Seattle and CBP are committed to making these systems as accurate as possible in recognizing all travelers, regardless of their specific characteristics. Because travelers are being matched against only a photo gallery of the passengers on their flight, facial recognition used in boarding an international flight or going through customs processing is more accurate than in other applications.
The accuracy in each application varies depending on the specific hardware, software, and environmental conditions such as room lighting. For screening of departing international passengers, the Port and its airline partners are using the NEC system that received the highest rating by the National Institute of Standards and Technology for accuracy; CBP has reported accuracy rates of higher than 90 percent.
The Port also requires all airline employees operating facial recognition technology to undergo training on cultural sensitivity and how to deal with mismatching issues with appropriate discretion. Most people who experience mismatches will be processed immediately in place using traditional documents to avoid any embarrassment or attention. However, the Port cannot mandate these protocols for CBP agents.
Customer Experience
Although the Port of Seattle cannot stop CBP from implementing facial recognition for international passengers, the Port has been actively involved in advocating for and providing the best possible customer experience for our travelers by:
- Implementing a broad array of policies to ensure that passengers are fully informed about facial recognition processing and can opt out if they wish.
- Conducting a broad communications campaign, and direct outreach to diverse and immigrant communities.
- Designing customer service standards to ensure that all airline employees operating facial recognition technology do so in the most appropriate manner: minimizing unintended image capture, handling mismatching issues appropriately, mandating an equivalent processing system for those who opt-out, and conducting regular performance evaluations to ensure that these systems are being operated as required.
- Banning any use of facial recognition for “mass surveillance,” which the Port defines as anything other than an individual knowingly and actively participating in having their photo taken and matched.
