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Delta Airlines Tests Facial Recognition To Speed Up Baggage Check-In (cnn.com)

Would you let Delta airlines scan your face if it meant you could skip the line to check-in your baggage? An anonymous reader quotes CNN: Delta is testing a face-scanning kiosk for baggage check... It uses facial recognition technology to match your identity to your passport photo. You tag your own bags, pay the fee and drop your luggage on a conveyor belt... Delta will test four of the machines at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport this summer. The airline spent $600,000 on the four kiosks.
A senior staff attorney at the EFF warns this could be a slippery slope -- at what point this morphs into airline surveillance? But a Delta spokerspeson insists the images won't be stored, that they're complying with privacy laws, and that the kiosks could double the number of passengers whisking through their check-in procedures.

57 comments

  1. surveylance paranoia by vivian · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Are you kidding me? The airline knows already knows who you are, what seat you will be sitting in, where you are going and have all your passport details. Do people really think there's any additional information the airline is going to glean from a photo of you other than confirming you are who your passport says you are?

    1. Re: surveylance paranoia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      You know what else would speed up check-in? Having enough people at the counter.

    2. Re: surveylance paranoia by GrumpySteen · · Score: 4, Insightful

      But that doesn't let them use automation to replace people, cutting salary and benefit costs while upping the CEO's year-end bonus.

    3. Re:surveylance paranoia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, sure thing, buddy. Most of you (not me!) walk around with a mobile wireless surveillance platform (i.e. your smartphone) that sees and hears everything you do, contains a very sensitive GPS receiver that can track your whereabouts within a handful of meters even inside a large building, there's cameras (and in many cases microphones) every goddamned place out in public, people are being stupid enough to buy surveillance platforms that they willingly install in their homes (Amazon Echo, Amazon Alexa, Google Home) that are designed and intended to be listening 24/7/365. Next someone will find an excuse to have people surgically implant RFID under their skin (probably under the guise of 'secure wireless payment' or somesuch bullshit) that will LITERALLY track your every move regardless of whether you have as smartphone on you or not. Everything we do on the internet, despite our best efforts, is tracked, logged, and analyzed by corporations and governments (you can use Tor like I'm doing right now, but the roadblocks put in your way to using it everywhere are not trivial and in some cases insurmountable). When are you dumb shits going to stop with the denial and admit that we're already living in a goddamned Police State and are monitored constantly like goddamned convicts in a goddamned prison? There is almost LITERALLY nowhere you can go in this country to get away from it all. If you start using cash to pay for everything, you get scrutinized as a possible home-grown terrorist. If you don't use so-called 'social media' (I don't, do you?) you get scrutinized, and in some cases may be penalized by society as 'antisocial' or possibly as a potential criminal. Taking measures to protect your privacy get dirty looks from people who think you 'have something to hide'. Trying to educate people about how privacy is still their right and is valuable gets you funny looks like you're some sort of nutjob who needs to be medicated. When are you going to realize what has been and is being done to us?

    4. Re: surveylance paranoia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      'check in' is NOT a significant time sink in airports. neither is baggage claim (other than waiting for bags to get offloaded and transported to the terminal in the first place).

      the time waster in airports is the fucking "security" check points...

      it's the "random" swabs of bags elsewhere in the terminal...

      it's the 'overbooked' flights where airlines sell additional last minute full fare tickets then bump the cheapest discounted travelers because they make more money that way, even with 'compensations' to those bumped.

      it is NOT the check-in counter.

    5. Re:surveylance paranoia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Excuse me, I think you dropped this. It seems to be a bit of tinfoil from your hat.

    6. Re:surveylance paranoia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You have no idea what you are talking about.

      Right now, it is possible for the "authorities" to pull a complete profile made up of all recent images taken of you. Twenty years ago such a profile would contain one passport photo (which could be up to ten years old, or older, if your passport has expired) and one drivers license photos (of variable age, depending on jurisdiction).

      Today, that profile will include all imagery of you, including the images taken at the "smart gates" at the border (in my case, this would be > 20 sets of images per year) as well as these images at automated check-in.

      Such information can be used to train facial recognition databases, more-so because the systems are taking multiple images from multiple angles, and the identity of the traveler is as confirmed as you get these days.

      In my opinion, wide-spread facial recognition can only be used *against* me - and serves no real purpose of benefit, which is why I oppose it.

      But my opinion aside, what bothers me most is that there has been no discussion regarding the ramifications of such a system. I haven't seen any online discussion let alone coverage in the mainstream news. The politicians have also been extremely quiet, with no public announcements, no discussion of data security, or how the imagery is stored, what the imagery is used for, and what the data-sharing arrangements are. Nothing. Don't you think that's strange?

    7. Re: surveylance paranoia by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      Maybe you should just learn to travel lighter. I haven't been to a check-in counter in years. I check-in online, download my boarding pass to my phone, and then go straight to the gate.

      Fortunately the airlines are now charging luggage fees, so at least the people lugging 100 pounds of crap with them on a weekend trip are paying their fair share.

    8. Re: surveylance paranoia by SlaveToTheGrind · · Score: 2

      cutting salary and benefit costs while upping the CEO's year-end bonus

      Companies generally don't look for excuses to throw more money at CEOs -- they pay what they think is required to retain them. Just like they do with you and me.

      Any additional profits would much more likely ultimately reach the shareholders. Like the mutual funds in your retirement account, for example. Which most people, and I bet even you, expect to go up in value over time.

    9. Re: surveylance paranoia by dougdonovan · · Score: 1

      im glad i invested in my pilots license. charter a 172, no drama.

    10. Re: surveylance paranoia by TheOuterLinux · · Score: 1

      That's because that additional information isn't for Delta. Intelligence agencies are constantly trying to find more ways to get as much biometric data as they can on everyone.

    11. Re: surveylance paranoia by aaarrrgggh · · Score: 1

      Automating things at the airport improves customer service opportunities, to a point. Place humans where they can improve brand perception and not doing archaic data entry.

      It is amazing how fast checking a bag with Virgin America is compared to the legacy carriers as a simple example.

    12. Re: surveylance paranoia by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      It says so in green ink right on the sign I'm carrying.

    13. Re: surveylance paranoia by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      Dunno about that. Running out of gas 100 miles off the Atlantic coast seems kinda exciting to me.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    14. Re: surveylance paranoia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Any additional profits would much more likely ultimately reach the shareholders. Like the mutual funds in your retirement account, for example. Which most people, and I bet even you, expect to go up in value over time.

      You're mixing up multiple things here. The only way that profits reach shareholders is through dividends, which Delta provides but is not always provided to shareholders. "Going up in value" is not something that a company can divert profits into (except in the short term as part of a buyback).

      Companies generally DO look for excuses to throw more money at CEOs, because that level of decision is made by the board, which is composed of CEOs of other companies who expect that the purpose of these companies is to personally enrich them. The profitability and long-term viability of the company itself takes a backseat to their own personal desires.

    15. Re:surveylance paranoia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree with you man. Screw those other two comments you have.

    16. Re: surveylance paranoia by bn-7bc · · Score: 1

      Ok flyong a 172 across the arlantic is probsbly not a briliant idea du travel outside the americas ( nor incloding us teritories in the middle of nowhere) is Probably out, depending on the pilots licennse, if he has ifr and thr money to tent an aitcraft tjat can make the trip I see no issue, of course he has to pass thru costums and passport check on arival anyway

    17. Re: surveylance paranoia by The+Wild+Norseman · · Score: 1

      Ok flyong a 172 across the arlantic is probsbly not a briliant idea du travel outside the americas ( nor incloding us teritories in the middle of nowhere) is Probably out, depending on the pilots licennse, if he has ifr and thr money to tent an aitcraft tjat can make the trip I see no issue, of course he has to pass thru costums and passport check on arival anyway

      Ah. Experiencing some pretty heavy turbulence there, are ya?

      --
      "A government is a body of people usually -- notably -- ungoverned." -Shepherd Book
  2. And who gets access by no-body · · Score: 1

    to all those data? With this POTUS intelligence this will all turn into a police super surveillance state - or whatever you may call it...

    1. Re:And who gets access by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That already happened with the last POTUS, you cuck.

    2. Re:And who gets access by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Were you not paying attention the last 16 years? Are you seriously now going to accuse the new president of police state surveillance that's been going on all this time? Where the fuck were you when Obama's NSA was spying on everything and everyone, when he was droning American civilians and innocent people overseas, when Bush signed the Patriot Act into law with the help of both Democrats and Republicans, etc, etc.

  3. It's not really image recognition by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is what really happens with these advanced airport security implementations

    1. Re: It's not really image recognition by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wouldn't surprise me. Someone gets to pocket the 600k for a solution that costs a few hundred

  4. Delta IT is trying to shake their nickname by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Doing Everything Like The Amish

  5. Check-in staff by kbg · · Score: 1

    I wonder how many extra check-in staff you could hire for $600,000? Isn't the reason for the delay in check-in baggage because there are not enough people on staff to check your baggage?

    1. Re: Check-in staff by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well if you pay them 60k and you could hire about ten of them. For one year ....

    2. Re:Check-in staff by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 1

      Want to check in faster . . . ? Just fly 1st or business class.

      Oh, is that too expensive for you? Well, there's the answer right there. Airlines treat passengers like shit, because they can. This was the breakthrough discovered and exploited by RyanAir: People will put up with being treated like shit in exchange for a cheap airline ticket. Folks are addicted to cheap flights now. And, just like a drug addict, they are at the mercy of the drug dealers . . . in this case, the airlines.

      I don't see this changing at all, because the airlines have no financial incentive to speed up check in times. If they think the face recognition stuff will help them save operating costs, they'll do it. Otherwise, just bring a folding chair to sit on while you are waiting in line, and fiddle with one of your electronic gadgets.

      I just sit on my suitcase, with my elbows on my knees propping up my head, so I look like a bored statue of "The Thinker" taking a dump. Wave to me if you see me in the airport check in waiting line, and I promise to wave back. Anything to kill the time waiting in line . . .

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
    3. Re:Check-in staff by aaarrrgggh · · Score: 2

      No, it is about people bickering on fees, not knowing what they are doing, trying to change seats, etc. that shows the process down.

  6. up next by TFlan91 · · Score: 1

    air marshals and local cops are replaced by robots who know exactly how to much to beat you and drag you off without breaking bones or leaving permanent damage.

    1. Re:up next by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Individual cellular functions continue, subject is therefore alive and unharmed"
      "This Unit believed it may have had reason to be fearing for its maintenance billing"
      "Underaged criminals are not to be shot multiple times in the back without judgement. Therefore this was not his back, therefore he was a sentenced criminal escaping"
      "Firing at random into a crowd would not be possible without authorization. It happened, and therefore This Unit was authorized, therefore all actions were legal and the perpetrators struck down were definitely criminals"
      "I'm sorry, my logs were erased moments ago. It must have been an evil criminal hacker or this dead perpetrator that attempted criminal CFAA violations using the death-throes of its meat body"
      "It's funniest when the meatbags twist and squirm while their hydraulics spill across the floor. It's evidence that they were wracked by guilt for criminal actions."

  7. Not needed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't check bags anymore thanks to their dumb fees, and the check in is not the slow part of getting through the airport. Fix the TSA first.

  8. Corrected statement by PinkyGigglebrain · · Score: 1

    "But a Delta spokerspeson insists the images won't be stored yet, that they're complying with privacy laws at the moment, ...

    FTFT

  9. "Suspected terrorist, please step to left" by JoeyRox · · Score: 1

    A Delta Customer service agent will be right with you.

  10. Pay Fee. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't you just love it that when you everything your self and subsequently saving them a TON of money they charge you extra?

    My pet peeve is the "convenience fee" when you do something online.

    Delta used to give a 1,000 FF miles when you used their website. Then they got rid of that. Then they charged you for telephone assistance. Then they got rid of that and made a big deal that they're saving customers money.

  11. Future headline by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Delta Airlines data breach. Data that was claimed to not be stored was released in a file dump by Anonymous. It goes all the way to the day where they claimed they don't store the data"

  12. It isn't facial recognition which will do this by Solandri · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Given recent news reports about altercations between airliner personnel and passengers, I wouldn't at all be surprised if airlines began video surveillance of ticketing booths gates, and the interior of airplanes. The problem with cell phone video is that it almost always misses the beginning of the incident. So if the industry feels they are being wrongly criticized by the news media replaying and relying exclusively on cell phone video to characterize a story, they are going to respond by installing 24/7 surveillance video.

    The main actor I can see working against this isn't the EFF. It's the NTSB. They won't want video of people in a plane cabin dying in a plane crash to become public. Because planes are much safer than cars, but any such video would cause irrational people to drive rather than fly, leading to more net deaths. For ticketing booths and gates, I suspect DHS already requires 24/7 video surveillance. Especially after the terrorist attack at Amsterdam airport.

    1. Re:It isn't facial recognition which will do this by Idefix97 · · Score: 1

      Amsterdam airport attack? Please get your facts straight or is this another "alternate" fact?

    2. Re:It isn't facial recognition which will do this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      forget it, he's on a roll

  13. Jokes on you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My luggage doesn't even have a face.

  14. Hurry up and wait by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2

    The baggage check-in is the least time-consuming part of flying. Now if there's something an airline could do to minimize sitting on the tarmac for three hours without being able to leave your seat, that would be impressive.

    They can't build high-speed trains fast enough for me. Flying has become much worse than riding the low-budget bus lines.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
    1. Re:Hurry up and wait by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      The baggage check-in is the least time-consuming part of flying.

      Won't be after the nifty hi tech machine breaks.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re: Hurry up and wait by bn-7bc · · Score: 1

      Well "the tarmac" is a bit unspesific where you at thr gaye or stuck st s taxyway brvause pf othr pilots/atc/whstever doing unexpected things causing delays and finaly making you lose youre take off slot? As mouch as atilines are "adding to the "flying experience" In gensral once the doors are closed the airline csn't do mouch about the travel time untill your flight is on grond at the festination iirc

  15. Really Improving Speed by Cbs228 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If the airlines really want to streamline their check-in process, they should focus on creating terminals with a fast, responsive UX. Any time I've used an airport kiosk, I've had to click through anywhere from five to eight screens of information. Each screen is separated by a lengthy "loading" modal dialog box which takes anywhere from two to five seconds to process.

    No, I don't want to pay the at-airport price for a first-class upgrade. No, I don't want to change my seat---there are no more seats to be had! No, I don't want a mileage multiplier. To check bags, I have to swipe a credit card they already have on file and wait for it to authorize. At the end of the process, I have to wait another fifteen to twenty seconds for my boarding documents to re-print---regardless of whether or not I need them. All the while, I'm using a touchscreen which has the responsiveness characteristics of a physical keyboard: a physical keyboard that has been dipped in molasses and then coated in gelatin.

    As it stands, I suspect that the airlines really have no interest in streamline check-ins. They seem to use it mostly as another opportunity to sell you things.

    --
    At our school, we don't earn a degree when we graduate—we earn pi/180 radians
    1. Re:Really Improving Speed by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      If the airlines really want to streamline their check-in process

      What makes you think airlines want to do that? The check-in process is not the reason you need to sit around at the airport wasting time. They don't care about it. They don't care if it is even longer.

      Not paying a staff member; now you've got their interest.

      But as for your check-in process:

      No, I don't want to change my seat:

      I do. I always tick yes because quite often I find an undersold premium economy or better still an undersold emergency exit seat that they need to fill with anyone and when clicking on it it confirms the updated price of $0 for the upgrade.

      To check bags, I have to swipe a credit card they already have on file and wait for it to authorize.

      Is this an upgrade or did you buy a ticket with checked in baggage in the first place? Just because someone has your credit card on file doesn't mean they get to freely charge it. I've never seen this screen but then I've never added a checked bag at the airport, always pre-bought with the ticket.

      At the end of the process, I have to wait another fifteen to twenty seconds for my boarding documents to re-print

      Every airline I've flown with an auto check-in desk asks if I want to print boarding cards.

      Sorry to say it sounds like you're flying a crappy airline, or from an airport with crappy terminals. Yeah the touchscreens can be a tad slow, but no slower than any other resistive touch screen kiosk I've seen (e.g. ATMs, or voting machines). And in any case it's still a hell of a lot faster than standing in a queue with 100 people to get served by 3 check-in attendants.

  16. minority report by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Minority report Bitches

  17. WTF? Why do they need to know it's me? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

    Last international flight I took I walked into the self check-in counter with my online check-in barcode on my phone. Flashed it over a little box which then opened allowing me to put my suitcase in, it printed out a 2 tags: one for the bag and one for me, and then closed whisking away my suitcase to be collected wherever I arrive.

    Given I'd already bought the ticket, checked in online with my passport details, verified I am the person in possession of the online ticket, what the hell do they need to do a face scan for?

    In addition to the above, I now need to clear security, clear customs (if going overseas), and board the flight or my bag will get removed from the plane, so the risk of some third party checking in a dubious bag is very very small indeed.

  18. G Dammit, No! by thedarb · · Score: 1

    Today they want to record my face, tomorrow it'll be imaging my balls. No!

    --
    This sig intentionally left blank.
    1. Re:G Dammit, No! by ncc74656 · · Score: 1

      Today they want to record my face, tomorrow it'll be imaging my balls. No!

      They're already doing that with the "Pr0n-o-Vision" scanners at the security checkpoint.

      --
      20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
  19. Facial... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It would be funnier if Delta were trying to identify people with porn facials.

  20. So, guess who's not flying Delta? by TheOuterLinux · · Score: 1

    UK people are used to this, I guess. As a company that works at an airport, they cannot insure that data won't be stored or used for anything else. They "Geek Squad" it if nothing else, aka intelligence agencies paying people to give them copies. Hell, if they use the Internet for this in anyway, technically the data transferred can be sold by the ISP rather than getting a warrant.

  21. Advanced beatings by theshowmecanuck · · Score: 1

    They'll be able to figure out who to threaten, intimidate, and beat before you even get on board. You might even be able to be humiliated and bruised without needing to go through security.

    --
    -- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
  22. ... but can it recognize you after you got beat up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    by their staff?

  23. Just like last time right? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes, I'm sure the images won't be stored, just like the body scanner images 'weren't stored.' I'm sure they will totally respect privacy laws, just like they didn't with the body scanners.

    Of course there is no slippery slope here that we have no chance of averting.

  24. Yet Another Reason to Stop Flying Comm. Airlines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've said it time and time again: you CANNOT use digital biometrics for security or authentication purposes. Don't allow thieves to think they can cut your body parts off to succeed in their "score". Don't give companies permission to sell your biometric data or any other data. Don't encourage the government's mass surveillance programs. Instead, why don't we go back to being a free country? Wouldn't that be nice?

  25. They should have a scale to weigh pax, too by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They should have a scale to weigh pax, too, and charge obese people a surcharge.

  26. Anyone Else Remember? by The+Wild+Norseman · · Score: 1

    From the FS: "But a Delta spokerspeson insists the images won't be stored, that they're complying with privacy laws..."

    LOL Remember how they promised the literally exact same thing when it came to the special backscatter machines, the photos and such that are generated? Sure enough, it didn't even take long to discover that they lied their collective asses off.

    Even after that, who the hell knows if it's been fixed or what, namely because HEY LOOK OVER THERE.

    --
    "A government is a body of people usually -- notably -- ungoverned." -Shepherd Book
  27. That face. by Neuronwelder · · Score: 1

    What about plastic surgery?