DHS wants to ramp up use of facial recognition at airports from just 15 to almost all in 4 years

Despite concerns over facial recognition's impact on civil liberties, public agencies have continued to apply the tool liberally across the U.S. with one of the biggest deployments coming to an airport near you. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that it plans to expand its application of facial recognition to 97 percent of all passengers departing the U.S. by 2023, according to the Verge. By comparison, facial recognition technology is deployed in just 15 airports, according to figures recorded at the end of 2018. In what is being referred to as'biometric exit,' the agency plans to use facial recognition to more thoroughly track passengers entering and leaving the country. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that it plans to expand its application of facial recognition to 97 percent of all passengers departing the U.S. by 2023 The system functions by taking a picture of passengers before they depart and then cross-referencing the image with a database containing photos of passports and visas.