A new bill that would protect Americans’ ability to opt out of biometric security checks at the airport is being challenged by the airline industry, which claims that it would slow down travel and jeopardize security.
The bill, the Traveler Privacy Protection Act of 2025, would limit the ability of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to store and use the biometric data of Americans going through the airport. Lawmakers say the bill is necessary to protect privacy and standardize how biometric data is used by the federal government.
The bipartisan proposal, first introduced by Democrat Senator Jeff Merkley (OR), is backed by Republican Senators Roger Marshall (KS), John Kennedy (LA), and Steve Daines (MT). The bill is set to be heard before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Wednesday morning.
“Privacy is one of America’s most sacred liberties, and we must protect it,” Marshall said when the bill was introduced in May. “In no universe should the federal government collect biometric data from Americans without their full, informed consent. The Traveler Privacy Protection Act strengthens safeguards around this sensitive data and brings transparency for travelers.”
The legislation would require TSA to give travelers the option to have their identity verified without facial recognition technology, standardize practices toward those who opt out, and ensure that those who opt in do not have their data stored indefinitely.
On Monday, a coalition of groups including the U.S. Travel Association, Airlines for America, the American Association of Airport Executives, and the Airports Council International-North America, sent a letter to the Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) and ranking member Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) in opposition to the bill.
“Limiting the use of FRT thwarts ongoing efforts to modernize the travel experience as we prepare to welcome the world for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, America’s 250th birthday, and the 2028 Summer Olympics, and jeopardizes the Trump Administration’s recent success in modernizing airport screening with the implementation of One Stop Security, the enforcement of REAL ID, and the end of the ‘shoes off’ policy,” the groups wrote in a letter obtained by The Daily Wire.
The letter also argued that the legislation would bog down security processing and “weaken aviation security and immigration enforcement across the country.”
Over the last few weeks, the committee has been working to address concerns from both the TSA and the airline industry with the bill, and will introduce an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to deal with some of those concerns. The committee incorporated around 80% of the TSA’s technical assistance requests for the legislation, according to a source familiar with the matter.
That amendment bill has not yet been publicly released, though it was referenced in the airline industry’s letter leading to congressional concern that TSA is sharing drafts of legislation with the airline industry and using them to lobby against legislation.
“Now that senators are prepared to safeguard Americans’ privacy, TSA is getting their industry friends to carry water,” a senior GOP congressional aide told POLITICO.
The TSA did not respond to requests for comment from The Daily Wire.
While passengers are currently allowed to opt out of facial recognition, the draft of the bill would guarantee that all passengers are given “the option to opt-in to the use of facial recognition or facial matching technology for identity verification at the screening location” and ensure that they will not be treated differently based on their choice.
The legislation would also ensure that data collected for testing purposes would be deleted within 90 days of collection.