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Leaked Document Reveals Upcoming Biometric Experiments At US Customs
sarahnaomi sends word of new biometric technologies coming to U.S. entry points. "The facial recognition pilot program launched last week by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which civil liberties advocates say could lead to new potentially privacy-invading programs, is just the first of three biometric experiments that the feds are getting ready to launch. The three experiments involve new controversial technologies like iris and face scanner kiosks, which CBP plans to deploy at the Mexican border, and facial recognition software, according to a leaked document obtained by Motherboard. All three pilots are part of a broader Customs and Border Protection program to modernize screenings at American entry and exit ports, including at the highly politicized Mexican border, with the aid of new biometric technologies. The program is known as Apex Air Entry and Exit Re-Engineering Project, according to the leaked slides. These pilot programs have the goal of "identifying and implementing" biometric technologies that can be used at American borders to improve the immigration system as well as US national security, according to the slides."
The Global Entry kiosks use finger prints and facial recognition to verify your identity already. I don't see how this is a privacy concern.
I've no problem with the facial recognition and/or iris scanning - we already have these at UK entry points and they work well. I'm less happy about fingerprints though. You leave fingerprints everywhere and so they are easy to get hold of and potentially copy. Plus I would worry about my fingerprints ending up in a database which is searched by police. This raises the risk of either false matches or incidental matches if you happen to have been in a location where a crime is later committed.