Making biometric checks at airports voluntary has two fatal and related problems:
1. As long measures such as iris scanning are voluntary, they won't actually do anything useful for security (is a terrorist really likely to voluntarily submit?).
2. If it starts out as a voluntary scheme, how long before airlines begin charging more for passengers who do not submit to voluntary checks? Or maybe they will lay on discounted 'biometric checked-passengers only' flights - cheaper to insure surely? When it comes to a choice of cheap flights, the refuseniks will be in a tiny minority, and the technology will become effectively compulsory.
Slashdot Mirror
Making biometric checks at airports voluntary has two fatal and related problems: 1. As long measures such as iris scanning are voluntary, they won't actually do anything useful for security (is a terrorist really likely to voluntarily submit?). 2. If it starts out as a voluntary scheme, how long before airlines begin charging more for passengers who do not submit to voluntary checks? Or maybe they will lay on discounted 'biometric checked-passengers only' flights - cheaper to insure surely? When it comes to a choice of cheap flights, the refuseniks will be in a tiny minority, and the technology will become effectively compulsory.