TSA Teams Up with CBP on Biometric Traveller Screening

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has officially teamed up with US Customs and Border Protection in its effort to expand its use of biometric traveler screening technology.

The revelation arrives via the newly published TSA Biometrics Roadmap for Aviation Security and the Passenger Experience, a document aimed at detailing the TSA’s “plan to expand the use of biometrics technology as part of its continued effort to enhance security and the traveler experience,” according to a statement announcing the publication.

Partnering with the CBP is listed as the first of four main goals outlined in the Roadmap, with the CBP having made dramatic progress in expanding a border screening solution that uses facial recognition technology to identify travelers, primarily at airports. But a second goal is to enhance TSA PreCheck, a biometric pre-screening program that the TSA has been conducting over the last several years.

A related goal will be to expand the use of biometric technology to additional domestic travelers, while a fourth entails “developing the infrastructure for biometric technology,” with the TSA adding that it “is already carrying out these objectives through smart investments and collaborative partnerships.”

It’s another indication that biometric traveler screening is very likely to become widespread and commonplace, despite current objections from privacy and civil rights groups like the ACLU. The trend was already solidly in place thanks in large part to the efforts of the CBP, and with the TSA now seeking to leverage its expertise and capabilities together with it, biometric traveler screening is bound to hit new hits in short order.

–

October 16, 2018 – by Alex Perala