0:02 Have you traveled by plane recently,
0:04 particularly internationally? I recently
0:06 traveled to France and I was quite
0:09 surprised at the changes I found both in
0:13 the US and in France. What's new is the
0:15 introduction of facial recognition as
0:18 the primary way security is handled now
0:21 at both these countries which I
0:23 experienced at Los Angeles International
0:26 Airport and Charl de airport in Paris.
0:28 Remember these are two different
0:31 countries and yet the standard way of
0:32 handling airport traffic was
0:35 disconcerting. It was almost as if the
0:37 countries coordinated. The glaring
0:39 observation I made was that when
0:42 entering France and when returning to
0:46 the United States, I spoke to no human
0:48 being other than following walking
0:50 directions and being directed to a
0:53 camera machine. No one interviewed me at
0:56 either entry port, though there was a
0:58 person mechanically stamping the
1:00 passport in France, but not saying a
1:03 word. What does this all mean? What are
1:06 these machines? What do they do? How is
1:08 it that these governments are so
1:11 confident of their use of facial
1:14 recognition technology that in the case
1:17 of the United States, I didn't even have
1:20 to show my passport to anyone. All I had
1:22 to do was have them take a picture of my
1:25 face. Anyone interested in privacy ought
1:28 to be concerned and wonder if you can
1:30 opt out of having facial recognition
1:33 used on you or if there are consequences
1:36 to requesting that no facial recognition
1:39 be done. I did not see any signs
1:41 anywhere that offered any opt- out
1:43 alternatives. Given the political
1:45 climate in recent years in America where
1:47 freedom of speech can no longer be
1:50 assumed, one wonders if you will be
1:53 stopped at some border and harassed and
1:55 your phone and devices examined for
1:59 content against the current regime. Now
2:01 that I'm back in the US, I began
2:03 researching all this so that next time I
2:07 travel, I'm more aware of my options.
2:09 Fortunately, I did not have any issues
2:11 at all. It was smooth sailing. Even
2:14 though being who I was, it was a concern
2:16 to me if some three-letter agency
2:19 somewhere was rattled by what I say. And
2:21 by the way, the shocking thing was that
2:23 I was recognized in Paris. So, it
2:25 wouldn't have surprised me if some AI
2:27 could do it as well. Let me share with
2:30 you my experience and what I learned
2:33 about the use of this new technology.
2:36 And also I will share some of my fears
2:38 as this changes how we interact at
2:52 I'm grateful to be an American.
2:54 First of all, what I will talk about is
2:57 my experience as an American citizen
2:59 traveling with a United States passport.
3:02 This is something underappreciated by
3:04 many young people who protest the
3:06 American flag and so on. I have to say
3:08 that I appreciate completely the
3:10 benefits of being an American. When
3:13 arriving at the customs and immigration
3:15 area in France, for example, it was
3:17 notable to see a very long line of
3:19 people waiting to be processed for
3:21 entry. And I'm guessing that most of
3:23 those people were coming from African
3:26 countries based on the makeup of the
3:28 population in line. and I went through
3:31 what I expected to be a long line, but
3:34 it turned out to be practically no line.
3:35 There was no wait at all to enter
3:37 France. And as I said, no French
3:41 official said a word to me other than to
3:44 point me to a camera machine. I felt the
3:45 unfairness of it all and how the world
3:48 worked. But I was thankful personally,
3:51 of course, that it was easy, though my
3:53 concern was more because of the nature
3:57 of my YouTube channel. In the US, the
3:59 citizen area was completely segregated
4:02 from the non-citizen area. So, I
4:04 couldn't tell you what the experience is
4:06 like for non-citizens. I imagine with
4:08 current immigration strictness in
4:11 America, that would make any visitor
4:14 tense. Unfortunately, the US is the most
4:17 difficult country to travel into, and it
4:19 is easy to forget this when you're a citizen.
4:21 citizen.
4:24 Our rights as citizens and the potential
4:27 of abuse. I personally am very thankful
4:30 to be a US citizen, but as a citizen,
4:32 I'm also concerned about the rights and
4:35 freedoms I'm entitled to under our
4:38 constitution. I'm concerned about issues
4:39 like the first amendment, which
4:42 guarantees me freedom of speech, and the
4:44 fourth amendment, which serves to
4:47 prevent abusive search and seizures.
4:49 Both these amendments feature big and
4:51 privacy. With privacy, we enable
4:54 ourselves to exercise free speech
4:56 without someone watching over our
4:59 shoulder. This is no longer a given when
5:02 various technologies ensure that someone
5:04 is always watching over your shoulder. I
5:06 talked specifically about the new intent
5:07 to do client side scanning on our
5:11 devices and how this can be used to know
5:13 specifically what we're all thinking
5:15 based on what we do on our phones and
5:18 computers. Then there's the wide use of
5:20 geo fencing which now tests the limits
5:23 of the fourth amendment because now we
5:25 can be implicated in government drag
5:28 nets searching for potential crime when
5:31 there is no warrant or cause just
5:33 because we happen to be in some
5:36 particular area. View fencing is the
5:39 technology used to find people in a
5:42 specific area at a specific period of
5:45 time based on phone data. something
5:47 that's routinely done now because of
5:50 your phone data. Supplied to the problem
5:53 of facial recognition, one wonders then
5:55 what the intent is when cameras are
5:58 being used at airports to be the primary
6:00 way of screening people exiting and
6:02 entering a country. Is this another
6:05 abuse of our privacy in the making? Are
6:07 our photos being stored in some
6:09 database? are AI bots running in the
6:12 background scanning our information in
6:16 social media to red flag us in some way.
6:18 So, in this light, I'm going to see what
6:22 the TSA says about this technology,
6:24 match it to my experience and speculate
6:27 on various other technologies in the
6:30 works that they're not revealing to us.
6:32 USA Credential Authentication
6:36 Technology, CAT. According to the TSA
6:37 website, the equipment I encountered at
6:40 the airport is called credential
6:43 authentication technology or CAT. And
6:44 specifically, this version of the
6:47 technology currently in use is referred
6:51 to as CAT 2. The way I experienced it is
6:53 that I was told to scan my passport on
6:55 the device. Then I was to look straight
6:58 at the camera. I saw on the screen that
7:00 it marked my face with a border on
7:03 screen, which is obviously AI based. And
7:05 then there was a flash and there was a
7:08 pause as if it was processing something.
7:10 The first time I used it, the machine
7:12 seemed to have a longer delay than a
7:15 neighboring machine. So it got me
7:17 concerned that some additional scanning
7:20 was being performed, but eventually it
7:22 completed. I can't remember now, but
7:24 maybe it was a green arrow indicating it
7:28 was successful. Based on what I read on
7:30 the TSA website, what supposedly was
7:33 happening was that the machine simply
7:36 compares the photo that was digitally
7:39 stored based on the chip on the passport
7:42 and it compares that against the actual
7:45 photo taken to ensure there's a match.
7:47 So if I understand that right, the
7:50 passport photo on the passport is not
7:52 actually used but some digital
7:54 representation of it is downloaded from
7:57 somewhere either from a government
8:00 website or embedded directly in the
8:03 passport. Uh
8:06 I'm not sure and that is compared to the
8:09 photo just taken. Then the two are
8:12 matched. Again, according to the TSA,
8:14 this photo is only used to authenticate
8:17 the document and that the TSA itself
8:19 doesn't have access to external
8:21 databases which may show additional
8:24 information about the individual.
8:26 Supposedly, it is simply to make sure
8:29 that the document is authentic. From my
8:32 past understanding, both your USA
8:35 passport card and the passport itself
8:38 has an embedded RFID. So, I can imagine
8:40 that that would store the passport
8:42 number and that could enable it to
8:44 download the image that matches the
8:47 passport from elsewhere. I can't imagine
8:51 an RFID holding actual image data. Then
8:54 from here, once you're validated, you're
8:57 good to go. Your entry is authenticated.
8:59 One of the things stated on the TSA
9:02 website is that the image of you is not
9:05 stored permanently, but is deleted
9:07 shortly after.
9:10 But somehow I don't buy this. Let me
9:13 fast forward to the return trip. On my
9:15 re-entry into the US through
9:17 immigration, I was holding the passport
9:20 in my hand, but at no time did I have to
9:24 show it to anyone or to scan it. Yet,
9:26 when I got to the final point, I had a
9:29 facial recognition photo taken again and
9:30 the confirmation was practically
9:32 immediate, not like the delay on the
9:35 first time doing this when I departed.
9:38 Didn't they say they delete the photo? I
9:40 think it was within 24 hours. I came
9:43 back a week later and no passport was
9:46 required. common sense. My photo or
9:48 facial recognition data was stored or
9:51 they'd have to repeat the process of cat
9:53 authenticate that document against my
9:55 face. That didn't happen on the way
9:58 back. It was purely facial recognition
10:02 used for IDing me and the officer nearby
10:05 said aloud that the passport was not
10:08 necessary. Now admittedly the passport
10:11 has an RFID so it could have scanned the
10:14 RFID on the way in so that the machine
10:17 was prepped for it but it does raise the
10:19 question. Folks, if you traveled
10:22 internationally recently, please compare
10:23 my experience with yours and let's see
10:26 if there's any pattern here. I'm
10:28 suspicious here that they are not
10:30 telling us the whole story. Again, to
10:33 repeat, they claim that Cat 2 is a
10:36 document authentication machine, not a
10:39 facial recognition device matched to a
10:42 database. That is clearly either not the
10:44 case here or they store the image at
10:47 least long enough to catch you on the
10:50 return flight. So, this sounds fishy to
10:52 me. We're being led like a flock of
10:59 USA, is there an opt out?
11:01 Let me tell you something else that was
11:04 very strange. In all the documents from
11:06 the TSA, they state that facial
11:09 recognition is not mandatory. You can
11:12 choose to opt out. I will emphatically
11:14 state this to you. I was not aware of
11:17 any sign anywhere that stated that I had
11:19 an option to opt out of facial
11:22 recognition. And since this was my first
11:24 encounter of this, I didn't want to
11:26 stand out and cause a fuss. But clearly
11:28 they didn't want to even suggest that
11:31 there was an opt out. On the website
11:33 they state that when you choose to opt
11:36 out there's no penalty of any sort and
11:39 you do not lose your place in line.
11:42 Supposedly the only difference is that a
11:44 human will review your document and then
11:47 you proceed in as normal. I didn't get a
11:50 chance to opt out. I didn't get to read
11:51 of this in advance. And this is
11:54 obviously a newly implemented
11:56 technology. From reading articles on the
11:58 internet, I see the earliest signs of
12:01 this being used was in May 2025. So
12:04 within the last 4 months or so. So I
12:06 didn't know the consequences of opting
12:09 out. Now, I'm able to inform you that
12:12 you can opt out and you can read their
12:14 rules and they clearly state that they
12:18 will not penalize you for opting out or
12:21 subject you to any extra delay and not
12:23 even losing your place in line. So,
12:25 don't be afraid, folks. If your
12:27 experience is different than mine or if
12:30 my memory is faulty, I would like other
12:32 people to verify the experience. This
12:35 again is at LAX at the Tom Bradley
12:37 International Terminal. Let me know if
12:40 your experience is similar, same, or
12:43 different in the comments. If you opted
12:45 out, please also tell us in the comments
12:48 to see if you feel like you encountered
12:50 extra trouble either in departing or
12:57 watch lists.
13:00 It is also stated in the TSA website
13:02 that once you insert your passport into
13:05 the machine that other things happen
13:07 that you are verified to actually have a
13:10 flight and that they check some flight
13:13 databases and they do admit too that the
13:16 passport is passed through some federal
13:19 watch list database. The implication is
13:22 that the other controls to identify or
13:24 classify the passenger is happening in
13:26 the background and not under the control
13:29 of the TSA person running the CAT
13:31 machines. So, if I'm to guess, if
13:34 there's some issue, the machine will
13:36 give an alarm and then I presume you're
13:39 escorted elsewhere to deal with law
13:41 enforcement. Again, as a tech guy,
13:43 that's my guess, but the TSA makes it
13:46 sound like they're just doing a document
13:48 check. This of course is more
13:51 sophisticated at many levels. As an
13:53 expert on surveillance, I would imagine
13:55 that the machines would be under the
13:58 control of some AI that is providing
14:01 other intelligence data to classify the
14:04 traveler. And despite the TSA assurance,
14:06 it sounds to me like it is capable of
14:08 doing a full evaluation of every person
14:11 going through that machine. So this is
14:14 no simple document check. While this may
14:17 be obvious to all of us, a population
14:20 used to surveillance, I'm suspicious of
14:22 the word play. Like, hey, we're not
14:24 invading your privacy. Don't worry about
14:33 I already told you this and this is
14:36 based on prior knowledge, but the
14:38 passport and passport card have an
14:42 embedded RFID. So your identity can be
14:44 known without displaying your passport.
14:46 So in addition to this, my eyes are
14:48 aware of cameras at all times. Aside
14:50 from the usual overhead surveillance
14:52 cameras found in most airports at the
14:55 Tom Bradley International terminal, the
14:57 exit escalator was chock full of
15:00 cameras. On a single escalator, there
15:02 were three cameras and these were at eye
15:04 level, not up in the ceiling. And they
15:07 were equally divided over the length of
15:09 the escalator. And this was the single
15:12 way down at least for ambulatory people.
15:14 So in theory there would be no escape.
15:17 You would be facially recognized even
15:20 before you enter the customs immigration
15:23 area. What I'm saying is that in
15:26 addition to the final exit cat 2 camera,
15:27 there were multiple cameras along the
15:30 way. And I'm sure the purpose of that
15:33 would not be stated. These cameras were
15:34 not hidden, by the way. They were at
15:36 face level on the left side of the
15:39 escalator. So, it would be obvious if
15:41 you faced away from them since the wall
15:44 to the right was empty. I'm expecting
15:46 surveillance, so this doesn't surprise
15:49 me, of course. But, uh, nice talk on the
15:52 TSA website is inconsistent with the
15:55 reality. Of course, as an American
15:57 citizen, I didn't get stopped or get
15:59 delayed in any ways. So, I appreciate
16:02 that, but I also recognize that this
16:04 equipment could escalate the way we're
16:07 treated with little forewarning.
16:09 I have to add too that the boarding pass
16:12 is also now your face. So no need to
16:15 show a boarding pass. The AI's got you.
16:17 And yet you're told that they're not
16:21 storing your photo. Come on. Something
16:24 is not adding up.
16:27 Phone device screening.
16:29 The most worrisome aspects of this
16:31 technology and other things related to
16:34 this is an increased level of
16:35 surveillance that have been experienced
16:38 by others who have been denied access to
16:42 the USA even after being granted a visa.
16:44 There's that story of a German scientist
16:46 coming in for a science conference and
16:49 was apparently denied entry in the US
16:51 after supposedly having his phone
16:54 examined and anti-Trump comments were
16:57 found on his text messages. Later the US
17:00 immigration claimed that the reason for
17:03 denial was based on social media posts
17:05 which again is a concern. Good thing
17:08 they don't apply this rule to citizens
17:11 or at least not that I'm aware of. Being
17:13 aware of such events and also phones and
17:15 computers being examined at different
17:17 countries. I did not bring a regular
17:20 computer. Instead, I had a basic factory
17:22 reset computer with just basic
17:25 functionality and no real content on it.
17:27 My phone was my Bra 3 phone, which
17:29 normally doesn't have much content on it
17:31 either. It's troublesome that I would
17:34 even have that fear that someone would
17:36 be looking at my possessions or digital
17:39 data in light of the protections of the
17:41 Fourth Amendment. But in this current
17:42 world, I'm always prepared because I
17:45 frankly have a lot of distrust. It
17:48 doesn't seem to matter who is in power
17:51 as government officials know to use the
17:53 capability that's made available to
17:56 them. As I always say, when the
17:58 technology allows any kind of evil to be
18:03 done, evil will be done.
18:06 EU facial recognition.
18:08 Now, going through the EU side via
18:11 France, the experience was almost
18:13 identical to the US version. I had to
18:15 feed my passport through some reader and
18:18 then a camera above it took my photo and
18:21 then when it was okay, a mechanical gate
18:24 opened, the same kind they use in the
18:27 Paris Metro to accept your metro ticket
18:30 like cattle. I had to admit it was
18:33 efficient and stressless because there
18:35 was no human interjecting other than to
18:38 point you to the empty camera machine.
18:41 Now here looked like the normal document
18:44 verification done by facial recognition.
18:46 I presume though that the French
18:48 government does not have direct access
18:51 to the photo database of the USA. So I
18:53 imagine they just compared the physical
18:55 passport photo to your facial
18:58 recognition photo. I heard from some EU
19:00 folks who stated that in the EU facial
19:03 recognition is also optional. Once
19:05 again, I don't know what the game is
19:06 being played because there was
19:08 definitely no sign that indicated there
19:11 was an option from the nylon lines that
19:13 led you to the camera machines. All I
19:15 saw was pictures of the flags that
19:17 applied to the countries allowed in each
19:19 line. Then at the end of the line, it
19:21 opened directly to the five or six
19:23 camera machines. So, EU people, check
19:26 your laws. If you opt out, what happens?
19:30 Have you tried opting out?
19:33 Normalizing facial recognition.
19:35 One of the things that happen here when
19:37 they implement facial recognition in
19:39 this overt manner is that it
19:43 desensitizes the population. It gets us
19:45 used to providing biometrics. Just like
19:47 our phones spy on us and we have
19:49 accepted it as normal. Then facial
19:52 recognition is all of a sudden the new
19:55 thing that we must accept as normal. And
19:57 just to make sure we accept it, they
19:59 make sure to not indicate that you have
20:01 a choice. Put a little bit of fear in
20:04 you to ensure compliance. So now expect
20:06 this to expand. Facial recognition to
20:09 enter a building. Facial recognition to
20:12 log into social media. It is already
20:14 such a concern to me that some parts of
20:17 Los Angeles already has heavy facial
20:20 recognition of drivers in cars. Remember
20:23 this city, folks. Culver City,
20:26 California, the surveillance capital in
20:29 Los Angeles County. You'll get tickets
20:31 with facial recognition. As we have
20:33 found in this use at the airport,
20:35 there's always mission creep. Sure,
20:37 we'll just use this for credential
20:40 authentication. It would not be used for
20:43 police surveillance.
20:46 Yeah, right. By the way, in 2023,
20:49 Senators John Kennedy, Republican from
20:53 Louisiana, and Jeff Mkeley, Democrat
20:55 from Oregon, introduced a bill, which
20:57 apparently went nowhere to ban facial
21:00 recognition at airports. Senator Mkeley
21:03 said this about the bill. The TSA
21:06 program is a precursor to a full-blown
21:08 national surveillance state. Nothing can
21:11 be more damaging to our national values
21:13 of privacy and freedom. No government
21:16 should be trusted with this power. TSA
21:19 responds that it doesn't save or store
21:22 travelers photos after a positive ID is
21:26 made. TSA policy requires that security
21:29 officers show each traveler respect and
21:32 ensure their privacy is protected.
21:34 That's what the agency says on websites.
21:36 Travelers who do not wish to participate
21:38 in the facial comparison technology
21:41 process may decline the optional photo
21:43 without records in favor of an
21:45 alternative identity verification
21:47 process which does not use facial
21:49 comparison technology to verify their
21:52 identity. This action will not take
21:55 longer and travelers will not lose their
21:57 place in line for security screening.
21:59 GSA is committed to protecting traveler
22:02 privacy, civil rights, civil liberties,
22:04 and ensuring the public's trust as it
22:07 seeks to improve the traveler experience
22:09 through the exploration of identity
22:11 verification technologies.
22:13 And note what I said about my suspicions
22:15 that in spite of what the TSA claims on
22:18 their website that your photos are in
22:20 fact being stored.
22:23 As a closing note, the electronic
22:26 privacy information center wrote that
22:29 facial recognition is an invasive and
22:32 dangerous surveillance technology. There
22:35 is a reason facial recognition has
22:38 become ubiquitous in less democratic
22:40 countries. Facial recognition is an
22:42 ideal tool for oppression by an
22:45 authoritarian or would be authoritarian
22:47 government. TSA's use of facial
22:50 recognition normalizes the use of our
22:52 face as our ID and the dangerous
22:54 implications are far too great to
22:58 ignore. The TSA should immediately halt
23:00 its implementation of facial recognition.
23:02 recognition.
23:05 I'm sure someday they will up the ante
23:08 with the Dubai method. Apparently there
23:11 they do a retinal scan or the China
23:14 method with fingerprints combined with a
23:17 WeChat app. Sometimes I cannot
23:19 personally do anything about these
23:22 invasions to privacy. The only thing
23:25 possible for me is to speak out and
23:28 enough of you have to care for things to change.
23:35 Folks, thank you for watching my videos.
23:37 As many of you know, this channel does
23:40 not have sponsors, and we primarily
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23:44 products and services that we use to
23:47 defend our privacy posture. I'd like to
23:50 invite you to visit our community site,
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23:55 privacy enthusiasts. There are people
23:58 from various walks of life and beliefs,
24:00 and they converge together in the mutual
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24:06 store there with products ranging from
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