COMMISSION 
AGENDA MEMORANDUM                        Item No.     9a 
BRIEFING ITEM                             Date of Meeting      February 25, 2020 
DATE:     February 5, 2020 
TO:        Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director 
FROM:    Eric Schinfeld, External Relations; Veronica Valdez, Commission Office 
SUBJECT:  Biometrics Working Group Progress Update 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
On December 10, 2019, the Port of Seattle Commission passed motion 2019-13 related to the
use of public-facing biometrics at Port facilities. That motion contained four key directions to
staff: 
Outlined seven (7) principles for public-facing biometrics at Port facilities: 1) Justified, 2)
Voluntary, 3) Private, 4) Equitable, 5) Transparent, 6) Lawful, and 7) Ethical; 
Directed staff (through an internal working group process) to translate those principles
into tangible, enforceable policy recommendations governing the use of public-facing
biometric technology at Port facilities by the end of Q1 2020, for Commission passage
by Q2 2020; 
Put a hold on any new or expanded uses of biometrics at Port facilities until after
Commission approves policy recommendations and adopts policies; and 
Directed the creation of an external advisory group to provide feedback on proposed
working group policy recommendations 
Since that time, both the working group and external advisory group were established. As of 
February 25, the working group have met four (4) times, and the external advisory group will
have met two (2) times. The next meeting of the working group will be February 28, and the
next meeting of the external advisory group will be on March 6. In addition, a Commission
Biometrics Special Committee has been established and charter approved, and a Biometric
External Advisory dedicated page has been added to the Port website1. 
During the February 25 Commission meeting, Commissioners will receive an update on the
progress of the working group and external advisory group toward their March 31 deadline for
policy recommendations. 
BACKGROUND 
Biometrics is the measurement and analysis of physical and behavioral characteristics that are
used to identify individuals through technology. Examples of physical characteristics include the
1 https://www.portseattle.org/page/biometrics-external-advisory-group 

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COMMISSION AGENDA  Briefing Item 9a                                     Page 2 of 5 
Meeting Date: February 25, 2020 
unique features of an individual's face or their fingerprint, while examples of behavioral
characteristics includes an individual's voice, signature, or how they walk.
Due to technological advances, perceived customer benefits and federal requirements, there is
a significant increase in public-facing facial recognition technology deployment by public and
private sector users, including in airport and seaport settings. In fact, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) is Congressionally mandated to implement a biometric exit and entry
screening process for all international passengers. 
Facial biometrics are already being used at dozens of U.S. airports and cruise terminals, by
those who see the technology as a major benefit to travelers  both because of a faster and
more efficient travel experience, as well as a more accurate security process. However, many
members of the public and various advocacy organizations have expressed concerns about the
rapidly expanding use of facial recognition. These stakeholders have raised issues around
privacy, equity and civil liberties, as well as the potential for unregulated "mass surveillance." 
Public-facing biometrics are already used in various forms at the Port of Seattle's aviation and
maritime facilities, such as 1) CLEAR, a private company providing an option to those customers
who want expedited screening at U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints
to voluntarily supply their biometric data in order to verify their identities, 2) CBP's use of
biometrics at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to validate departing international
traveler identities, and 3) Norwegian Cruise Line use of biometrics on ship while docked at Pier
66 to validate the identities of disembarking passengers. CBP will also use facial recognition
technology to screen almost all arriving international passengers once SEA's International
Arrivals Facility (IAF) opens in the coming year. 
In advance of any expanded biometric uses at Port of Seattle facilities, the Port of Seattle
Commission desires to develop policy frameworks and clear guidelines to reduce potential
misuse and abuse of biometrics, while improving public understanding of the benefits and risks
of this technology in various applications. On December 10, 2019, after holding two study
sessions, conducting stakeholder outreach and doing multiple site visits, the Port Commission
adopted seven "biometrics guiding principles," and directed staff to translate those principles
into tangible, enforceable policies. Specifically, the Port strives to balance operational needs,
business priorities and regulatory mandates with protections for the interests and rights of
passengers, employees and other visitors to our facilities. 
Over the last three months, a working group of Port staff have collaborated with an external
advisory group of key stakeholders to accomplish that task. One of the key findings from this
process is that the various use cases of biometrics require separate analysis as to how the Port
should (consistent with local, state and federal requirements) apply the biometrics guiding
principles to develop policy. One unified set of policies is not practical because of key
differences from one use case to another, such as who manages the data, requirements
imposed by state or federal law, and the benefits and risks associated with each use. 

Template revised September 22, 2016.

COMMISSION AGENDA  Briefing Item 9a                                     Page 3 of 5 
Meeting Date: February 25, 2020 

BIOMETRIC AIR EXIT DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS 
The first set of recommendations created by the working group and initially vetted by the
external advisory group is specific to "biometric air exit," which is the use of facial recognition
by CBP, the Port and/or airlines as part of CBP's Traveler Verification Service (TVS) to validate
the identities of departing international airline passengers as they board the aircraft. Additional
recommendations for other use cases will be similarly provided. 
Biometric Air Exit is primarily intended to realize CBP's goal of determining whether foreign
nationals have overstayed their authorized periods of admission, as well as to confirm whether
the departing individual is truly the same person who entered the United States. Currently, this
process mainly uses passenger information provided by airline carriers, which is then matched
to the entry data collected by CBP officers at the time that a foreign national was admitted to
the United States. 
Direction for CBP to move to biometric data collection originated as a recommendation of the
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11
Commission. In its final report, the 9/11 Commission concluded that "funding and completing a
biometric entry-exit screening system for travelers to and from the United States is essential to
our national security." Based on the 9/11 Commission's recommendations, Congress included
biometric entry/exit provisions in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of
2004. The fiscal year 2013 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act transferred
entry/exit policy and operations to CBP. In addition, the  fiscal  year  2016 Consolidated
Appropriations Act authorized funding for a biometric exit program of up to $1 billion to be
collected through fee surcharges over a period of 10 years. More recently, President Trump
included direction to expedite completion of this transition to biometric identification in section
7 of Executive Order 13769, which is known as the Muslim ban or travel ban: "The Secretary of
Homeland Security shall expedite the completion and implementation of a biometric entry-exit
tracking system for all travelers to the United States, as recommended by the National
Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States." 
CBP has begun implementing its biometric exit program through its development of the
Traveler Verification Service (TVS). TVS is essentially a system of related databases hosted by
CBP, containing the biometric facial recognition "template" of individuals that are ticketed on
international flights. These templates are based on images previously collected by CBP or other
federal agencies, such as passport or visa application photos. TVS allows CBP or one of its
authorized partners to deploy camera systems that capture an image of an individual and send
the image to CBP, along with the person's flight information, for processing. CBPattempts to
match the image to its "gallery" of biometric templates for that particular flight and, if it
confirms a match, transmits a binary "match/no match" confirmation back to the partner. 
It is important to note that airports and airlines are not currently mandated to participate in
CBP's biometric air exit program. Of the two dozen airports and airlines that have partnered

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COMMISSION AGENDA  Briefing Item 9a                                     Page 4 of 5 
Meeting Date: February 25, 2020 
with CBP to implement biometric air exit, all of them have joined the program voluntarily
because they believe it improves customer facilitation and homeland security. 
Authorized users of TVS are required by CBP to comply with a set of business requirements. For
example, each camera must be connected to the TVS via a secure, encrypted connection, and
each CBP's partner's IT system must allow CBP to audit compliance with these requirements. 
If implemented at the airport by the Port and/or airlines, the biometric air exit program would
only be in place at departure gates when international departing flights are boarding. It is worth
noting that, if an airport or airline does not choose to partner with CBP to implement biometric
air exit, CBP has jurisdiction to implement the program itself using CBP staff and equipment at
any international air departure gate. 
The 36 recommendations (22 unique recommendations with discrete subsets) that have
resulted from the working group and external advisory group process are contained in the
attached draft Biometric Air Exit Policy Recommendations document. It is worth noting that the
final product will include a listing of concerns from some external advisors who do not support
some of these recommendations. All sides of the discussion will be represented to provide Port
Commissioners full information prior to adoption of any policies. 
With regard to biometric air exit, the Port has broad authority to establish policies that govern
the activities of Port staff and the use of Port resources, to the extent such policies are
consistent with federal law. Private sector stakeholders operating at Port facilities (such as
airlines) are also subject to the Port's policies, consistent with their own federal obligations and
the terms of their agreements with the Port   such as lease agreements or operating
agreements with the Port, which varies on a case-by-case basis. The Port has very limited
authority to influence, much less direct, the activities of federal agencies operating at Port
facilities. 
Where the Port lacks authority to mandate compliance with particular policies, the
recommendation is to work collaboratively with these stakeholders  to achieve voluntary
compliance where appropriate, and/or highlight how these stakeholders' own policies match
Port principles. The Port should also advocate for the adoption of new laws and regulations that
align with the Port's biometric principles. 
FUTURE BIOMETRIC USE CASE RECOMMENDATIONS 
As mentioned above, it is the finding of the Port staff that the various use cases of biometrics
require separate policy recommendations because of key differences from one use case to
another, such as who manages the data, requirements imposed by state or federal law, and the
benefits and risks associated with each use. The first set of recommendations created by the
working group and initially vetted by the external advisory group is specific to "biometric air
exit," which is the use of facial recognition by CBP, the Port and/or airlines as part of CBP's

Template revised September 22, 2016.

COMMISSION AGENDA  Briefing Item 9a                                     Page 5 of 5 
Meeting Date: February 25, 2020 
Traveler Verification Service (TVS) to validate the identities of departing international airline
passengers as they board the aircraft. 
As the Biometric Air Exit draft recommendations become finalized, staff plans to bring four 
additional use case policy recommendations through the process: 
1.  Biometric Air and Cruise Entry  use of biometrics by CBP in CBP controlled areas to
process arriving international passengers at the airport and the Port's cruise terminals 
2.  Non-Federal Biometric Passenger Processing  use of biometrics by airlines, cruise lines
and other private sector entities (i.e.  CLEAR) to expedite the processing of passengers
through bag check, ticketing and/or TSA security screening checkpoints 
3.  Biometrics for Customer Activities  use of biometrics for customer convenience, such
as  airline  lounge  access,  parking  garage  access,  rental  car  access  and/or  retail
purchasing 
4.  Biometrics for Law Enforcement and Security Activities  use of biometrics by Port
Police or tenants to identify individuals for law enforcement or security purposes 
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS BRIEFING 
(1) PowerPoint presentation 
(2) December 10 Commission Biometrics Principles Motion (Motion 2019-13) 
(3) Draft Port Biometric Air Exit Policy Recommendations 
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS 
January 7, 2020  Passage of Commission Biometrics Special Committee Charter 
December 10, 2019  Passage of Commission Biometrics Principles Motion 
October 29, 2019  Second Commission Study Session on Biometrics 
September 10, 2019  First Commission Study Session on Biometrics 







Template revised September 22, 2016.