The TSA's New $45 Fee to Fly Without ID Is Illegal

Post by anonymars » Tue, Feb 03, 2026, 4:55 PM UTC

raw_anon_1111 wrote: post #643

anonymars wrote: post #634

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm quite perplexed on what point you are trying to make by dying on this hill. That this does solve some hidden problem? ("if it really doesn't matter, then why do they need to collect it?") That folks should be conditioned to freely provide any data, scan, or biometrics upon request? When the government says "jump", always ask "how high"?

Yes it’s just as meaningless as putting a cover over your laptop camera, any bad actor that can access your camera can also access your microphone and you can get a lot more information from a microphone.

Post by raw_anon_1111 » Tue, Feb 03, 2026, 5:05 PM UTC

anonymars wrote: post #651

raw_anon_1111 wrote: post #643

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes it’s just as meaningless as putting a cover over your laptop camera, any bad actor that can access your camera can also access your microphone and you can get a lot more information from a microphone.

> meaningless as putting a cover over your laptop camera I don't think anyone ever shared a naked picture taken with a microphone (semi-related: https://www.yahoo.com/news/tsa-backlash-grows-over-leaked-bo... ). I don't think it's terribly rare to join a meeting not realizing that the camera option was still on ( https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13240957/Zoom-view-... ) It's also not clear what this has to do…

Post by pinkmuffinere » Tue, Feb 03, 2026, 5:13 PM UTC

awakeasleep wrote: post #603

pinkmuffinere wrote: post #601

Practically speaking, could I fly inside the U.S. without an ID? Just ask for the manual pat down? I assume I’ll need to show up like an extra hour early to give them time to harass me about it, but what are the chances that this works at all, vs just being turned away regardless of what’s legal?

I was pickpocketed a few years ago and was able to fly domestically without ID. They had some service that gave them a bunch of identity verification questions about my past and I had to go through a little rigamaroll answering them.

Post by intermerda » Tue, Feb 03, 2026, 5:26 PM UTC

almosthere wrote: post #554

intermerda wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You seem to be under the impression that the word "screening" means TSA can do whatever it wants. When in fact, if you click on the link under the word "Screening" in the own link you posted, there is a definition provided. > (4) Screening defined .— In this subsection the term “screening” means a physical examination or non-intrusive methods of assessing whether cargo poses a threat to transportation security. You s…

And reading further...The Administrator may approve additional methods to ensure that the cargo does not pose a threat to transportation security and to assist in meeting the requirements of this subsection. You clipped the first part while the definition was a lot longer including the above TSA can do anything they want escape hatch. Have a good day sir.

Post by raw_anon_1111 » Tue, Feb 03, 2026, 5:30 PM UTC

anonymars wrote: post #656

raw_anon_1111 wrote: post #653

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s privacy concern theatre without comprehending how good modern facial recognition is from one photo even when running locally on a modern smart phone. The TSA already knows you are on the airplane regardless. Just like covering up a camera from a bad actor on a laptop does little good compared to the information that can be gleaned by a microphone - the same with a phone.

Well, the type of people who think otherwise got the nude body scanners stopped back in the day ( https://www.wired.com/2013/01/tsa-abandons-nude-scanners/ ) Meanwhile it's not clear what it accomplishes to spend time advocating that the slightest pushback on any of this is pointless