Progress on Policy
Development for Public-
Facing Biometrics at Port
Facilities
Item No. 9a_supp_______
Meeting Date: February 25, 2020
Eric Schinfeld, Sr. Manager, Federal
Government Relations
Veronica Valdez, Commission Specialist
Commission Biometrics Principles Motion (12/10)
• Outlined seven (7) principles for public-facing biometrics at Port facilities: 1) Justified, 2)
Voluntary, 3) Private, 4) Equitable, 5) Transparent, 6) Lawful, 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 of policy recommendations and adopts policies
• Directed the creation of an external advisory group to provide feedback on proposed
working group policy recommendations
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Biometrics Working Group
• Matt Breed, Chief Information Officer
• Julie Collins, Director, Customer Experience
• Commander Lisa Drake, Port of Seattle Police Department
• Laurel Dunphy, Director, Airport Operations
• Marie Ellingson, Manager, Cruise Operations
• Eric ffitch, Manager of State Government Relations, External Relations
• Bookda Gheisar, Senior Director, Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
• James Jennings, Director, Airline Relations
• Ron Jimerson, Chief Information Security Officer
• John McLaughlin, Senior Port Counsel
• Anne Purcell, Senior Port Counsel
• Russ Read, Manager, Maritime Security
• Wendy Reiter, Director, Aviation Security
• Kathy Roeder, Director of Communications, External Relations
• Eric Schinfeld, Senior Manager of Federal Government Relations, External Relations
• Deputy Chief Mark Thomas, Port of Seattle Police Department
• Veronica Valdez, Commission Specialist
• Todd VanGerpen, Manager, Aviation Innovation
• Dave Wilson, Director, Aviation Innovation
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Biometrics External Advisory Group
• Ian Baigent-Scales, Airport Customer Development Manager - Airport Operations, Virgin Atlantic Airways
• Sasha Bernhard, Legislative Assistant, Office of US Representative Suzan DelBene
• Dana Debel, Managing Director, State and Local Government Affairs, Delta Air Lines
• Adele Fasano, Director, Field Operations, Seattle Field Office, US Customs & Border Protection
• Eric Holzapfel, Deputy Director, Entre Hermanos
• Suzanne Juneau, Executive Director, Puget Sound Business Travel Association
• Scott Kennedy, State and Local Government Affairs Manager, Alaska Airlines
• Jennifer Lee, Technology & Liberty Project Director, ACLU
• Maggie Levay, Director Guest Port Services, Royal Caribbean
• McKenna Lux, Policy Manager, CAIR-WA
• Yazmin Medhi, Outreach Director, Office of US Representative Pramila Jayapal
• Nina Moses, Stakeholder Relations Manager, US Transportation Security Administration
• Irene Plenefisch, Government Affairs Director, Microsoft Corporation
• Sheri Sawyer, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Washington State Governor Jay Inslee
• Victoria Sipe, Director Shore Operations, Holland America Group
• Rich Stolz, Executive Director, One America
• Elizabeth Tauben, Manager Port Guest Services & Clearance, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings
• Jennifer Thibodeau, Public Policy Manager - Western States, Amazon Web Services
• Jevin West, Director, Center for an Informed Public, University of Washington
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Progress To-Date
1. Working Group and External Advisory Group Established
– Working Group has met four (4) times, with next meeting on 2/28
– External Advisory group has met two (2) times, with next meeting on 3/6
2. Decision to approach policies by use case rather than blanket approach
– One unified set of policies is not practical because of key differences, such as who manages the data,
requirements imposed by state or federal law, and the benefits and risks associated with each use
3. Draft Policy Recommendations for Biometric Air Exit have been created and initially
vetted by External Advisory Group; two other draft policy recommendations drafted but
not yet vetted
– Goal is to share those 2 additional use case policy recommendations at the 3/6 External Advisory Group
Meeting
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What is Biometric Exit?
1. CBP has begun implementing its biometric exit
program through its development of the Traveler
Verification Service (TVS), a system of related
databases hosted by CBP, containing the
biometric facial recognition “template” of
individuals that are ticketed on international
flights, such as from passport or visa application
photos.
2. Airports and airlines are not currently mandated
to participate in CBP’s biometric air exit program
(two dozen airports have already). Authorized
users of TVS are required by CBP to comply with a
set of business requirements.
3. If f an airport or airline does not choose to
partner with CBP to implement biometric air exit,
CBP has authority to implement the program
using its own staff and equipment at any
international air departure gate. This is already
occurring at SEA on certain departing Lufthansa,
Hainan, Emirates and Virgin Atlantic flights.
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Biometric Air Exit Policy Recommendations (DRAFT)
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If a common use system is
implemented, it must be used by
all airlines
The Port should create
a Technology Ethics
Advisory Board.
Next Steps
1. Continued vetting of additional draft use case policies with working group and external
advisory group members
• Biometric Air and Cruise Entry (drafted, not yet vetted)
• Non-Federal Biometric Passenger Processing (drafted, not yet vetted)
• Biometrics for Customer Functions
• Biometrics for Law Enforcement and Security Functions
2. Continue to engage Commission Biometrics Special Committee to gain feedback on
vetted policy recommendations
3. Engage additional community members through various outreach and communications
channels
4. Complete all policy recommendations by March 31 deadline 🤞
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Questions?
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