Compared to other forms of data collection, biometrics such as facial, iris or thumbprint scans have greater potential for invasive surveillance or discrimination, privacy advocates say. Facial recognition, for instance, makes it difficult to protect your privacy in public spaces -- law enforcement has already used it to identify protesters such as one man accused of assaulting a police officer during a racial justice demonstration in 2020. At least three Black men in the U.S. have filed lawsuits alleging wrongful arrests due to faulty facial recognition.

Delta Air Lines, in partnership with TSA PreCheck, today announced an expansion of how it uses biometrics to let passengers drop their bags, go through security and board their plane by simply showing their face. For now, the newest part of this, the PreCheck bag-drop experience, is a pilot that's only available in Atlanta and for Delta's SkyMiles frequent flier program members who are also registered for TSA pre-check. The project builds and expands upon the work the airline has done at its Detroit hub and for its international flights out of Atlanta. But now it includes a facial recognition-powered bag-drop experience, too. In Atlanta, where Delta and the TSA are running this pilot, members of Delta's SkyMiles frequent flier program who are also TSA pre-check members now get their own self-service PreCheck bag-drop area.