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If you look happy you are a terrorist

news.bbc.co.uk — Travelers have been ordered not to look too happy in their passport photographs to avoid confusing facial recognition scanners.

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bonlebon 1 year 344 days ago, made popular 1 year 344 days ago

406 diggs
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unleashedlive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+23Canada has had this (neutral faced passport photos) in effect for years. Makes sense.
- kingfoot, on 10/12/2007, -4/+21how does it make sense? i've never been on a plane or to an airport, so when I eventually end up going to one...im sure ill be pretty happy.
- ImTheDarkcyde, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7getting a passport photo isn't going on a plane, it's like getting a drivers license photo, i'm sure you can wipe a smirk off your face for 2 seconds
- Rikkochet, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Yup. No smile, glasses off.
  
  You think you'd smile when you finally travel via air?
  Enjoy the hospitality that is airport lineups and airport security and I'll give you a hundred bucks if you're still smiling.
- Y2JCrisis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16You know, back in the day, security didn't need to be able to look you up in a directory for you to be able to get from point A to point B. It's sad to me that security is such a priority these days. For god's sake it wasn't this bad in the cold war.
  
  What's worse, I don't think it HAS to be this way. People just let it be this way because they are afraid. We're no more at risk now than we were in 1960... yet look how much more bound by our fear we are.
- foolfromhell, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Oh, Canada is doing it.... It MUST make sense!
  I have a depressed look on my passport
- mwace, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Bonlebon, you're really jumping to conclusions with that title. All I can say is that I hope to god you don't ever get put in charge of something important.
- kooft, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11@kingfoot
  
  You won't be after the body cavity search.
garbaggio, on 10/12/2007, -15/+2:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
- hackmiester, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1I agree. A wonderful idea.
devindotcom, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17Let's not overreact here. This is a perfectly reasonable thing for them to ask - if the passports are to be working together with face scanners, and the gov't is operating both, isn't it just that they should ask people to look neutral to guarantee effectiveness?

Anyway, now we know how not to be recognized by the scanners: smile.
- carapi, on 10/12/2007, -16/+3Of course it is reasonable. But hte ultra left needs ot bitch and moan about everyting.
  
  This is in no way calling people who smiling terrorists, hence the inaccurate vote this will get from me.
  
  This is also not NEWS, since it added obvious political bias, so another inaccuracy.
- ImTheDarkcyde, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8carapi, i'm not sure if you just didn't read the article, but this is for the UK
- spurtle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Great comment about the article from the page:
  
  "It's simple; if these new computer systems can't do the job properly, let alone as well as a human can already do it, then they're not ready and should not be used yet. Why should we change our behaviour to compensate for an inadequate, unnecessary and expensive computer system?
  Duncan Corps, Knebworth, England"
- netdroid9, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I suppose the main gripe is that now the government is mandating your facial expressions. I know it's only in passport photos and it's for a good reason, but you've gotta admit, that is a bit freaky.
- ssanders, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I don't think its freaky at all... and I'm a huge privacy/freedom advocate.
  
  Basically... if you pay attention to your facial expressions... its about neutral (or relaxed) 99.9% of the day. So if you smile in the photos, chances are you will have a relaxed face in the airport (unless you are just a really happy person). So if you are going to have a system like this, you need to make it actually work... which means you have people make the face they will be making the most.
  
  ...In other news... terrorists caught in clown colleges learning how to smile big.
captinherb, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11Can it still work if I have a neutral expression but I am giving the camera the finger?
- killinger777, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6You could do that... If you enjoy having a full cavity search.
daeyeth, on 10/12/2007, -7/+3...the World is ending as we know it.
- toxicredm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Right, because it's going to kill everyone to not smile for a camera.
tainedhero, on 10/12/2007, -3/+20Who the ***** is happy in an airport nowadays?
- tainedhero, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15And one more thing.
  
  "....under the new regulations along with dummies in babies' mouths....." Babies??
  
  Wow. Terrorist are getting younger and younger eh?
- carapi, on 10/12/2007, -13/+3It has nothing to do with TERRORISTS you idiot. Just becuase you are too ***** stupid to understand doesn't make it a horrible thing that they are trying to strike fear of terrorism.
- PathDaemon, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Ooh! Ooh! I am!!!
- martalli, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2>>Wow. Terrorist are getting younger and younger eh?
  
  I guess they have been watching too many Family Guy episodes at Homeland Security.
NewClassic, on 10/12/2007, -3/+18"Last Updated: Friday, 6 August, 2004"

Digg, your source for up-to-date news.
Micrll, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Ummmm.... I hate to be one the people that say things are old but this article came from a BBC article written in 2004 and it took effect in 2005. I normally don't care about old news but this seems a little time sensitive...
*blu*, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5i think this title is a bit... slanted.
- babbling, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Yeah, the BBC has a reputation for being biased, eh?
  
  Hint: If your head is tilted, even things that are straight will appear slanted.
- light50, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I think the poster means the title of the digg, not the original article. I agree the digg title is ott.
- *blu*, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2yes, i meant the title of the digg. Thanks, light50.
salivalnz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11Two year old article? Really. This is history, not news.

When they tell us they are reading your DNA remotely (which wouldn't suprise me) that'll be news.
bevanl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3On British Passport Photographs you can not smile, but you break into laughter when you trying to be serious. A facial recognition scanner that does not recognize smiles is an unhappy machine :-(
greymaxcat, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1Bush hates us and doesn't want us to be happy!!!
Smile and stick it to the man!
jesusfreak216, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3yeah slanted EYES damn racist goverment
flame
FlAmE
FLAME!!!
tburke261, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I take passport pictures where I work (photo place) so we are really careful to make the pictures right. Otherwise the Passport office kicks them back.
johngardiner, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1thanks russell peters lol stolen material!!
commodore64, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2I'm from Canada, we don't smile on our passport photos...no big deal. Stop Whining.
GDunck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"The new photographic regulations are effective immediately but the Passport Service says it will exercise some flexibility until early 2005."

Wow nice "news"
bowdie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I have my glasses on in my brand new UK passport, but it did take the guy a few attempts before he found a right combination of slight head tilt and angle to produce a square on shot of me, without glare from the glasses.
bjammin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Buried as it's really old, and the title is innacurate and deliberately inflammatory.
Azur2, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands (clap clap)
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands (clap clap)
If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. (clap clap)

Yep, burified for inaccuracifity.
- martalli, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Preschoolers can sing the song, but not with a pacifier in their mouths...
InfamousX241, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"If you look happy you are a terrorist"

What a misleading title. These are real problems with the face recognition algorithms. ***** ignorant people are so quick to label things.
omnithought, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Restrictions on babies too? How is a baby supposed to ever be capable of terrorism?
ralphzimmer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0For a few examples of do and do not, see this link
www.politi.dk/NR/rdonlyres/8E37DFDF-9B14-48E9-A9E2-5F1D171393EC/0/
1058_pasplakat_A4_web.pdf ( in one line ! )

Makes you think.
dpoon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2So while you are committing a terrorist act, make sure you do it with a smile so that the cameras won't identify you.
foobar5892, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It's wonderful to see so many people getting worked up about something that's been around for 2 solid years!
- Azur2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2(and still isn't working well)
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If you look happy you are a terrorist

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