Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Facial recognition software biased against Asians and black people, major US government study finds

Tests on 189 algorithms from 99 manufacturers, who represent most of the industry, found higher number of incorrect matches for minorities than for white people. Use of facial recognition is set to widen at airports worldwide, and travellers may decide it’s worth the trade-off in accuracy if they can save a few minutes

Facial recognition software has a higher rate of incorrect matches between two photos for Asian and black people relative to white people, a United States government study has found.

The evidence of bias against minorities in the software comes as its use is set to expand at airport security checkpoints in Asia, Europe and the United States.

The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have been testing facial recognition technology at airports across the US, expecting it will become the preferred method to verify a passenger’s identity.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology researchers studied the performance of 189 algorithms from 99 manufacturers representing most of the industry. Some algorithms performed better than others, they concluded, meaning that it’s likely the industry can correct the problems.

The institute found that US-developed algorithms had the highest rate of incorrect matches, or false positives, for American Indians.

Researchers found a higher rate of false identifications of black women when matching their photos to an FBI database. Higher rates of mismatches increase the chance that a person could be falsely accused, the institute said.

Patrick Grother, a computer scientist at the institute and the report’s primary author, said some mismatches can be resolved with a second attempt, such as checking a passport. However, he said, “a false positive in a one-to-many search puts an incorrect match on a list of candidates that warrant further scrutiny”.

The TSA has been testing facial recognition software at airport checkpoints in Los Angeles and Las Vegas in the United States, matching live images of passengers to the photos on their identity documents. Participation in those test runs was strictly voluntary.

“TSA’s facial recognition system will be for passenger identification and to determine the appropriate level of screening only,” spokesman Mark Howell said. “TSA understands the variety of concerns related to facial recognition match performance and takes this issue seriously.”

CBP uses the technology to screen arriving international passengers at 16 US airports and exiting international passengers at 26 US airports. Additionally, CBP uses it for entry at cruise ports in New York, New Jersey, Florida and Washington state.

Both agencies plan to expand the use of the technology to screen passengers. It could speed up the process, allowing for shorter waiting times for passengers and enabling security personnel to better focus their attention.

“Facial recognition is going to replace that interaction with the TSA officer,” said Brian Jackson, a security researcher at the Rand Corporation, a policy research organisation.

Grother’s team used an assortment of more than 18 million images of about 8.5 million people culled from files of the US State Department, the US Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.

The research adds to concern about the accuracy of the technology, which has potential implications beyond airport security.

Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union used software developed by Amazon to match photos of all 535 members of US Congress against a database of 25,000 publicly available arrest photos.

The software incorrectly matched 28 lawmakers with photos of people who had been arrested. Nearly 40 per cent of those false matches were non-white lawmakers, though minorities make up only 20 per cent of Congress.

Patricia Cogswell, the TSA’s acting deputy administrator, told US lawmakers in October that the agency wanted “a very highly probable match” in its developing biometric screening process.

“We are not matching you against mugshots,” she told a US House of Representatives subcommittee on homeland security. “If you don’t match, we go back to the regular process.”

Though there may be lingering concerns about the accuracy of facial recognition technology, travellers may decide it’s worth the trade-off if they can save a few minutes.

“Opting out will always have a time cost,” Jackson said. “There’s certainly a convenience benefit to it.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
×