Face recognition is already being used at airports all around the world to screen for potential criminals and terrorists. Over the next few years, we expect airports to adopt this emerging technology at exponential rates.
We think that face recognition has the power to transform airport security. But we were curious about what the public thought, so we conducted a survey of over 1000 U.S. citizens of diverse demographics. It turned out that people are wildly in favor of using face recognition in airports.
Here are five key takeaways from the survey:
People are In Favor of Face Recognition
Nearly two thirds (64%) of Americans think security personnel guarding airports (as well as concerts, sporting events and other public areas) should be allowed to use face recognition to help recognize terrorists and prevent crime.
Cameras in Airports Make People Feel Safe
While there will always be some people who have privacy concerns about any surveillance technology, 73% reported that they would feel less safe if cameras were removed from airports. Face recognition adds an additional layer of safety since it allows airports to proactively prevent crimes by identifying potential threats.
Human Memory is Fallible
Security professionals do their very best to protect airports from potential threats. But there are only so many names and faces that people can remember. Our survey found that 77% of Americans think that security guarding airports are not likely to remember the names and faces of potential terrorists on a watch list without face recognition.
People are in Fear of an Attack
Nearly nine in ten Americans (89%) think it’s likely that a terrorist or mass shooter will attack an airport, concert or sporting event over the next 12 months. For this reason, people are understandably open to new security technologies, like facial recognition, that can help improve safety at public places.
Americans Increasingly Plan to Use Face Recognition to Protect Personal Data
According to the survey, 54% of Americans plan to use face recognition to protect their personal data or already own a device that uses face recognition. As people are adopting face recognition as a means of securing their own privacy and data security, they are growing increasingly comfortable with similar technology being used to secure airports.
For these reasons and more, face recognition is increasingly becoming a go-to security solution for airports. Learn more about how FaceFirst revolutionized security at a prominent international airport.
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