I really don't see Clear, TSA precheck, etc. as any different from a computer security company that also is responsible for releasing viruses and exploits into the world.<p>The long lines at airports don't need to exist. It's security theater. They are selling a solution to a problem of their own making.<p>The fact that that problem is a gateway to a necessity (for many) like air travel, puts it clearly in the category of extortion. If I were in charge, Clear's business would be outright illegal.
I totally agree with this article. I have TSA pre, have several parties with who are willing to subsidize my clear membership (credit cards, FF programs etc.), and I get super pissed by the line cutting. Yet I refuse to join clear for two reasons. 1) I do not trust a private company to use and protect my biometric data (yes the govt isn’t much better, but that ship sailed when I got a passport/DL). And 2) I think it’s morally wrong to privatize access to federal services.
The solution• to these kinds of problems is integration. If some people have their wants and needs meet and their complaints addressed far more often than the rest of us, then the only way for the system to get better for everyone is if those people are mixed in with the rest of us and don’t just get to opt out and use a better system just for them.<p>•Also in this case abolish the TSA. Useless make work security theater.
The line-cutting is annoying, but the whole thing is just an excuse for the collection of biometric data, which is a much larger issue. Clear's business model is pretty clear - they'll annoy a large portion of America into giving them their biometrics, and once they have that, expand across the country into some kind of semi-mandatory subscription to access businesses or public spaces. How else does Clear become a "daily habit" used "12 times a day", as the CEO says in the article?<p>This has huge potential to track people everywhere they go. It's also not hard to imagine Clear adding some kind of "risk score" that bans people from every Clear-enabled business, which has massive potential for abuse.
Perhaps the civilizational feature america inherited from the British is their love of standing in lines: <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=v-tjgyWQ8nU">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=v-tjgyWQ8nU</a>. Like, I’m pretty sure if you did a scatter plot of how readily people queue up and GDP per capita you’d see a close relationship. I love using Clear but I feel like I’m contributing to the downfall of American society by using it.
<p><pre><code> "Airports empower Clear Secure’s employees to issue instructions to all flyers going through security—including those who never signed up for CLEAR."
</code></pre>
That's... interesting. So if I'm reading that right someone working for Clear at the airport can just wave anyone through? And/Or stop anyone from getting to their plane?
Wow this author is salty. Wait till they find out you can pay money for expedited passport renewal and for Group 1 boarding of the aircraft and for an Uber to pick you up 5 minutes early on the way to the airport.
What’s the hoo-ha here? My expectations of privacy while flying are zero. Heck, Delta lets me on board via facial recognition, don’t even have to show the boarding pass. Passport control is photo based too.<p>My understanding of Clear is they positively identify me via iris scan, then match it up to a background check and my KTN. With that, I’m a “known traveler” and don’t need an experienced officer to review my documents.<p>$100 or $189 is trivial compared to all the plane tickets and other expenses of travel. Over a couple dozen trips a year, I’m grateful for the reduction in waiting time and stress.<p>If there was another tier that had an even faster and more pleasant experience, maybe off to the side somewhere, I’d pay double.
I have TSA Pre and I am glad I got it. But I tried CLEAR (they had some free trials early on) and tbh I don't see much point. Yes, you get to cut the line. I've never waited in Pre line more than 5-10 mins. Why would I pay for it? While $200/yr is not really a big deal I just don't see much point. Maybe if I were an executive important enough so 10 mins matter but not important enough to get their own private jet - I'd get it, but otherwise - no. That said, I don't see them making anything worse. Yes, it's kinda annoying that some company gets to earn money for solving a problem that shouldn't be a problem from the start, and with zero competition at that, but in a grand scheme of things it's not bothering me that much. Their plans about "12 times a day" look spooky though - what do they plan to do for me to need ID verification services that often?
Monetizing misery in the security screening lane.<p>To be fair, if someone goes through the cost, time, and privacy invasion to get line cutting, more power to them. Pre I think is okay, Clear seems dubious. Clear, similar to public-private partnerships, generally shouldn't exist.<p>Airports and airlines are businesses, not government facilities or public commons. The primary reason the TSA exists is so profit motives don't trump security standards and end up with another 9/11.
I traveled recently with Clear Plus Precheck<p>In one airport I noticed I didn't have to show my ID at all, only boarding pass (QR code on my phone).<p>On the return leg I didn't even have to scan my boarding pass.<p>As someone who hasn't got real ID yet, this Is a good hack for me.
"Clear Secure CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker has big plans for her company’s core product. In a profile in Forbes last year she said that 'We want Clear to become part of people’s daily habit, to go from 12 times a year using it—which is how people on average were using it in airports—to 12 times a day.'"<p>Disgusting.