News Summary

• In 2017, certain airlines began trial runs of a new system that allowed passengers to choose their face instead of their boarding passes.
• A man in front of us opted out, an option I knew to be technically available but one I had never seen a traveler actually make use of.
• The screen stresses that a passenger may opt out by advising “the officer if you do not want your photo taken,” but also emphasizes that the picture, once shot, is immediately deleted.
• As with so many technologies that are used for surveillance but are currently optional, there’s a pressure to simply give in.