Senators Call on DHS to Investigate TSA’s use of Facial Recognition

In a November 20 letter, a bipartisan group of twelve Senators called on Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari to investigate the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) use of facial recognition. The letter was signed by members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation including Senators Jeffrey Merkley (D-Ore.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.). Other Senators that signed on include Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).

The Senators urged the Inspector General to look at TSA’s supposedly optional use of facial recognition that was “confusing and intimidating to opt out of” with many being unaware of that right. The Senators highlighted that TSA reports a 3% false negative match rate which means “more than 68,000 discrepancies daily if applied to all 2.3 million daily travelers.” The Senators also rang the alarm on TSA’s intent to expand facial recognition beyond security check points and making it mandatory in the future. Such a result would allow TSA to have “one of the largest federal surveillance databases overnight without authorization from Congress.”

EPIC’s Jeramie Scott has previously argued that TSA’s use of facial recognition is more dangerous than it might seem. EPIC has previously called on Congress to suspend of TSA’s use of facial recognition and urged lawmakers to halt the funding for the program. In May 2024, EPIC along with a coalition of civil society organizations, again called for a pause on TSA’s expansion of facial recognition in security checkpoints.