December 21, 2023

THE OTHER DAY I came in from overseas. At immigration I used the Global Entry line, as I normally do. The process was easy: a quick facial recognition scan and I was through.

Later I started wondering about that scan. Where did immigration authorities (CBP) get the biometric information used to identify me? I don’t recall signing over a scan of my face. Do you?

Not to sound paranoid, and I’m not saying we should object, necessarily. But the question is important: how do they know what we look like, and who gave them this data?

Maybe we did. It could happen when applying for a passport, and maybe a driver’s license too. It might be there in the fine print. (Those photos are awfully small, however. How much can be gleaned from them?)

Airlines, too, are beginning to use this technology to expedite boarding. Where did they get the data? If it came from those same passport or license pics, that would mean the government is sharing this information with airlines. Which is logical from a security perspective, but where is the line drawn? Does the government have the right to sell or share biometrics only with airlines, or with commercial entities in general? If so, which ones, and who gets to decide?

I don’t want this to topple into a worried rant over privacy and invasive technologies. There are enough of those out there already. Besides, it’s too late; the surveillance genie left the bottle a long time ago, and like it or not we’re stuck with the repercussions. But I’d like to know the answers.

Graphics courtesy of Unsplash and Getty Images