Legal Brief: Airport Facial Recognition and Privacy

November 17, 2025
Security Business Magazine

Types : Bylined Articles

While the TSA’s new technology is speeding up security lines, there may be legal implications

As I write this, I am traveling on a “red eye” (overnight) flight from Los Angeles to New York after a long week of meetings and depositions. I have traveled a lot lately, which means crowded security lines at the airport. They are not fun, but I know airport security is critical to our safety.

In the old days, airport security was provided by private companies. The 9/11 tragedy changed all of that, and Congress soon passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, creating the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) – resulting in much stricter security measures.

Over the years, the TSA has evolved to adopt various technologies to strengthen security and expedite passenger processing. One of its newest developments is its facial recognition scanning system. In use at nearly 250 airports across the United States, it replaces traditional methods like showing an ID and a boarding pass.

Called Credential Authentication Technology (CAT-2), TSA’s facial recognition technology reduces wait times, speeds up boarding, and improves the accuracy of identity verification security checks by comparing passengers’ faces to the photo on their passport or Real ID. Before a flight, the passenger presents a boarding pass and ID at the security checkpoint. Their face is scanned by the CAT-2 system, compared to the ID photo, and if identity is confirmed, the passenger is cleared.