Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have been using a facial recognition app called Mobile Fortify on the streets to identify and detain people. The discovery came last year from leaked emails reported by 404 Media. The same investigative journalist who broke the story subsequently confirmed and expanded his reporting using material obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The app, according to 404 Media, uses a database of more than 200 million images collected when people, including US citizens, enter the US. In other words, it relies on the data collected by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). Both CBP and ICE are housed under the Department of Homeland Security.
So how do you make sure you’re not caught up in that database? How do you make sure that your data isn’t misused, either by law enforcement or by anyone else who gets access to that data, legally or otherwise? Well, it starts by declining face-scanning when you have the option. Here’s how.
No Personal Consent, No Approval From Congress Either
When you enter the country and identify yourself, you never explicitly give your consent to have your photo taken, uploaded to a database, and used to help detain and deport people from the country. That said, most of us assume that’s just how governments operate. However, in this case, Congress never authorized DHS to use the data or technology for any purpose beyond verifying your identity and legal status at a border.
When an ICE officer pulls out their phone and takes a picture of your face—or even photos of your fingerprints—and runs them against the database, you have no right to refuse, according to documentation from DHS. Additionally, all photos captured by Mobile Fortify, the app ICE agents use in the field, are stored for 15 years, regardless of a person’s citizenship or immigration status.
If all this sounds alarming, we hate to inform you that it gets worse.
Known Bias in Facial Recognition Systems
The Guardian recently reported that “DHS issued a directive in September 2023 requiring that the bureau test the technology for unintended bias and offer US citizens the choice to opt out of scans not conducted by law enforcement. That directive appeared to be rescinded in February last year.” False identification of Black people, and Black women in particular, has long been a known issue with facial recognition technologies, and it contributes to racial disparities in arrests.
So you can’t stop your photo from being taken in the first place (unless you never get another driver’s license or passport and never cross the US border again). You can’t opt out if ICE wants to scan your face. And your risk of wrongful detention is higher if you have dark skin.
It’s bleak. It may seem like a lost cause to fight against this system, but I don’t think it’s too late.
Security Experts Have Been Warning Us for Ages
Security experts have been warning people against biometric scanning for years. I often think back to what former PCMag security analyst Max Eddy wrote in 2019 in a piece called Facial Recognition Is Tech’s Biggest Mistake: “Facial recognition is bad. It’s really bad. It’s a poor system for verifying identity or intent, it’s overly permissive, and it trains us to be OK with having our face scanned.”
When you enter a PIN or even place your fingers on a fingerprint reader, you’re taking an action, and you at least have an inkling what it’s for. Face scanning can happen passively without you showing any intent, much less consent. If you didn’t feel concerned about it five or six years ago, maybe the way ICE is using it now will help you see why it’s so dangerous.
Say No to Optional Face Scans
Despite the doom, you can still refuse some facial recognition systems. You don’t have to undergo it at airport Transportation Security Administration lines, for example, where US citizens can refuse. In these cases, there are supposed to be signs telling you of this right, but in the real world, they aren’t always up or visible.
Another example is boarding airplanes in the US. Politely decline, and the gate agent will pause the camera and check your ID manually. It doesn’t take any longer, and it doesn’t cause a scene.
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If you’ve read that TSA doesn’t even store the image it collects, that may be true now, but it might not always be. As The Huffington Post reported, “In its 2022 roadmap document, TSA outlines a future where the agency expands its biometrics capabilities to ‘validate and verify an identity and vetting status in real-time.'”
Any time you’re not sure, just ask, “Is this optional?” If it is, exercising your right to decline could help us all.
The Benefits of Declining En Masse
If a majority of people declined facial recognition where it’s optional, it would send a message. Companies don’t continue investing in technology that isn’t used, and on an individual level, opting out is the strongest option you have.
Conversely, the less we decline or complain publicly, the more companies will implement facial scanning as an integral part of their product, meaning you can’t refuse without giving up the entire product, service, or experience in which the tech is used. It’s the same as agreeing to those interminable Terms of Service agreements for software. Already, places ranging from your local grocery store to your favorite concert venue are using facial recognition for their own purposes, with little to no accountability.
I hate that my choices are A) let Hong Kong Disneyland take a picture of my face when I enter the park or B) miss out on a day of fun with my friend and her kid. That’s a real choice I had to make not too long ago. To opt out is to not go at all. In the end, I went, but the check-in experience was uncomfortable.
‘They Already Have My Photo’
What I hear from people who have given up is “They already have my photo.” To which I say, “Fine! Then they don’t need any more.”
The more times a photo is matched to a face, the better the system works. Maybe that’s a moot point given that Mobile Fortify already has 200 million photos and isn’t even scraping social media for them.
Declining when it’s optional, asking questions when the rules are unclear, and speaking up when you don’t like the system will influence the decisions that private companies make, and hopefully Congress, too.
Passively allowing the system to operate without a peep is compliance.
But Really, It’s Futile, Right?
Let me be real with you: Government agencies have a lot of pictures of me. I live outside the US. I travel back at least once a year, and I use Global Entry. I’ve held a ton of visas. And as a foreigner living in a small country, I often exit and re-enter, and I usually have my picture taken (though sometimes the camera is broken). Many pictures of my face are already in someone’s system.
The depressing truth is it may be too late to make a difference on the technology side, but it’s not too late on the society side. So I’ll continue to decline a face scan when I’m able. Maybe I’ll write a sternly worded letter to Disney, as well.
About Our Expert
Experience
I’m an expert in software and work-related issues, and I have been contributing to PCMag since 2011. I launched the column Get Organized in 2012 and ran it through 2024, offering advice on how to manage all the devices, apps, digital photos, email, and other technology that can make you feel overwhelmed. That column turned into the book Get Organized: How to Clean Up Your Messy Digital Life. I was also the first product reviewer at PCMag to test fitness gadgets, including everything from early Fitbits to smart bras.
Currently, I’m passionate about the meaning of work and work culture, and I enjoy writing about how managers and employees can communicate better, with or without software. My most recent book is The Everything Guide to Remote Work. I also love a good workplace drama.
In addition to writing about work, I cover online education, focusing on learning for personal enrichment and skills development. I have a soft spot for really good language-learning software. Although I grew up speaking only English, some twists and turns in life led me to learn Spanish, Romanian, and a bit of American Sign Language. I’ve studied at the university level, as well as at the Foreign Service Institute, where US diplomats and ambassadors learn languages.
My writing has also appeared in WIRED, the BBC, Gloria, Refinery29, and Popular Science, among other publications.
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