
ACLU sues Homeland Security over airport face recognition program secrecy - ajaviaad
https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/12/homeland-security-airport-face-recognition/
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dahart
> The ACLU said that its recent Freedom of Information Act request to better
> understand the system has been ignored. Now it’s suing to ask a judge to
> turn over the documents.

I'm not certain, but it seems like the government ignoring FOIA requests has
been an ongoing problem for years. I'm reading FOIA.gov right now, and don't
see anything yet, but are there any explicit deadlines for a reply or
automatic penalties for dropping requests on the floor instead of replying?
Are there good reasons why some requests should be ignored, as opposed to,
say, citing an exemption?

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rcw4256
FOIA has no real penalties for noncompliance. In Washington State, our public
records law has penalties (legal fees + $100 per day of noncompliance), and as
a result, state agencies tend to actually follow it.

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tombert
Wow, I actually didn't even know you could opt out of this. Delta really
should have made that more clear, but I suppose that's less conducive towards
a police state.

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afturner
You can only opt out if you're belligerent and willing to waste your time. On
a trip back from Spain, flying in to Dulles, the agent immediately took my
picture, even though I specifically said I did not want to. The agent said I
had no choice, even though I knew this was false. I was then escorted to a
supervisor who questioned me for ~20-30 minutes. He said that if I had nothing
to hide, I shouldn't need to worry. I argued for as long as I could, but I had
a connecting flight and needed to leave.. so I just gave up.

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taywrobel
I’ve opted out 3 times so far, without incident. Twice in LA, once in Seattle.
While heading to the door to board I didn’t look at the scanner and told the
gate agent that I’d like to opt out. They said okay, I got on the plane, and
that was it. Not even an alternative screen.

Not to say that your experience is invalid, but it’s not universal. Tho I am
fundamentally against the technology in the first place, hence the opt out.

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toomuchtodo
If you're against the technology, don't waste your time opting out (said as
someone who spent way more effort over years of opting out of millimeter wave
backscatter scans on principle). Support the ACLU, call, write, and meet with
your representatives, do things that matter. Opting out simply causes you pain
without any benefit.

Tools are never the problem; it's their implementation, use, oversight, and
governance. Seek change at the appropriate layer.

Disclaimer: I'd embrace any auth system that streamlines my travel process
(facial recognition at TSA checkpoint and the airline gate), but also believe
one should be able to opt out and downgrade to traditional documents if
desired.

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monksy
Continue to opt-out. It annoys the TSA. That's a good thing. I do it if I'm
"required" to go through the body scanner.

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jshevek
Thank you for doing your part. Every time you opt out, people may notice. The
more you opt out, the more you may inspire others to do so. The parent's
argument is a self fulfilling prophecy.

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monksy
When I do, it really break's people's pattern because they think I'm waiting
to go through the scanner. I'm just waiting beside of it like I'm told.

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mindslight
"Are you waiting?" "Oh, no. I'm not going _in that thing_ "

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ericmay
Here are some questions I have:

1\. How do I actually opt-out?

2\. If I opt out, does this affect Global Entry or TSA Precheck?

3\. Does opt-out have any bearing on renewal of Global Entry or TSA Precheck?

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mLuby
Are there people who are both have Global Entry/Precheck and are against govt
facial recognition?

I'm curious how those two get reconciled.

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headcanon
The difference is that Precheck is a voluntary, opt-in program - you give up
personal information in exchange for expedient security check. Big difference
from doing it for everybody indiscriminately.

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proverbialbunny
Why is the US becoming more of a police state, and how can we stop this?

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chente
Why? 9/11 and the Patriot Act. How? Be mad and let your elected officials
know.

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emptybits
FWIW, for non-Americans (like myself) ... you apparently cannot opt out of
this photo/face initiative. TSA/airport full-body scanners are still opt-out
for all.

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jjgreen
Don't visit the US. I've not been since they started fingerprinting us
_Untermensch_

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jordigh
That's been me too. Obviously they don't want us Mexicans in the US, so why
would I go?

I'm hoping to get a Canadian passport soon (although with what's happening in
the world, who knows), and I think for immigration and travel purposes,
Canadians are treated almost the same as US citizens (no fingerprinting). I
might visit the US again under those terms.

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ra7
No provisions for non-US citizens to opt out. Can't say I'm surprised.

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Stanleyc23
is there a place to check which airports and which airlines have implemented
this? I traveled over the holidays and didn't even notice the face scanning.

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Fnoord
Mirror: [https://archive.is/Ka7zO](https://archive.is/Ka7zO)

