Senator Markey Blasts DHS Plan for Facial Recognition at Airports

Senator Ed Markey has blasted the DHS's proposal to mandate facial recognition at US airports, stating "this proposal would amount to disturbing government coercion, and as the recent data breach at Customs and Border Protection shows, Homeland Security cannot be trusted to keep our information safe and secure." Senator Markey asked the DHS to withdraw the proposal and said he would introduce legislation to "ensure that innocent American citizens are never forced to hand over their facial recognition information." EPIC is pursuing a lawsuit to uncover documents about the CBP Entry-Exit program. In comments to the agency and Congress, EPIC explained that the agency unfairly burden travelers who exercise their rights to opt-out of biometric identification. EPIC has recently launched a global campaign, calling for a moratorium on the use of facial recognition for mass surveillance.