The head of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) is urging the Department of Homeland Security to consider the use of enhanced biometric scanning and other sophisticated technology to secure flights, rather than implement its proposed ban on laptops and similar electronic devices for flights coming to the US.
In a press release, CTA CEO Gary Shapiro asserted that “biometrics and facial recognition technology can ‘read’ eye and body movements to better decipher a person’s intent and emotions.” He also cited a CTA study from last year which found that over half of US adults are comfortable with the use of biometric technologies in security-sensitive areas like airports, arguing, “Consumers are ready for this technology”.
Shapiro added that data analytics can also be used to predict terror threats, and that specialized devices can detect explosives.
The CTA head’s comments echo those of the CEO of the Airline Passenger Experience Association, who argued in early May that facial recognition could be used to verify the identities of individuals wishing to use their laptops onboard planes, and that this would be in keeping with the DHS’s Biometric Entry-Exit Program.
The commentary arrives amid rapid expansion in the Customs and Border Patrol agency’s trial programs of biometric passenger screening systems at airports.
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June 29, 2017 – by Alex Perala
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