The #freedomflyers campaign includes efforts to make travelers aware that the TSA claims that submitting to facial recognition is "optional". The campaign also includes a free online Freedom Flyers Summit on "Resisting Airport Face Scans" on July 19th and — perhaps most importantly — a scorecard for travelers to report what actually happens when they try to opt out of facial recognition at airports.

In many cases, staff or contractors of airlines, airport operators, or the TSA tell travelers that facial recognition is required. In other cases, facial recognition turnstiles are unattended by any staff, leaving no apparent way to opt opt. Some facial recognition turnstiles are attended only by "line-minders" or security guards or subcontractors with no authority to allow travelers to pass through without submitting to mug shots.

Asking "Did the tech work?" is, of course, a trick question.

The purpose of facial recognition is to enable tracking of travelers, without our being able to tell when, where, or by whom we are being tracked. If "Did it work?" means, "Did it enable those who want to track you to track you, without your knowledge", than by definition, if it "worked", you won't know.

You may know that your face was scanned once, perhaps when you entered the terminal or checked in or checked your luggage, but you may not know how many other times it was scanned, where, when, by whom, or for what purposes. The goal of public-private partnerships in airport surveillance is seamless multi-purpose data sharing and "curb to curb" traveler tracking through common-use embedded facial recognition infrastructure.

The TSA claims that removing your mask for a human check is required, but that being photographed is not. To date, no court has ruled on whether the TSA can require travelers to remove face masks or submit to mug shots or automated facial recognition. Nor has any court ruled on whether a common carrier could require removal of masks or submission to mug shots or automated facial recognition as a condition of carriage.