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It’s all silly theater. CLEAR has revenue share deals with airports to allow you to cut the TSA line. The TSA is already rolling out identity verification similar to what CLEAR tried to implement. TSA identity proofing is still the requirement.

Folks need to ask airports why CLEAR gets to collect fiat for the performance to enable security screening line cutting.

Agreed, it's shady or at least questionable why a singular private entity has been handed a monopoly position blessed by the government to exchange money for line cutting at every major airport.

How did this contract come to exist? How does this further the interest of taxpayers?

Same with EZPass

You can usually avoid paying the toll if you carpool or drive a motorcycle or just don't take that highway during peak hours. There's almost always public transit along an express lane so you could take that too. It unreasonable and inefficient to allow single-occupancy vehicles to use all lanes of traffic at all times on busy roads.

EZ Pass is a cooperative partnership between all of the participating toll agencies, not a private corporation.

Paying money to skip lines seems fine.

Edit: xp84’s comment is a more eloquent representation of the situation.

Agree to disagree in this instance (I find the identity proofing theater part distasteful for some reason). I’m going to keep writing congressional reps and pressuring airport authorities on these concession agreements. CLEAR isn’t solidly profitable (refer to their 10-Ks, NYSE: $YOU), so hopefully the end of this practice is in sight considering a rising interest rate environment and the TSA implementing such proofing directly.

Just call it airport fastpass if you’re going to enable the practice. Still gross, just more honest.

(Strong opinions on the topic; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandolini's_law )

Assuming I agree with your premise, which some might find deeply disturbing in the context of government, doesn’t it seem shady that this one for-profit private company is deputized to offer this service? I too want to know the terms, and at least whether these contracts are up for bid regularly. If I were the negotiator for the government side, I’d feel obliged to cap subscriber fees as a condition of the deal, and also to encourage multiple companies to compete for the contracts on how much of the revenue they’ll give the government/airport. The lack of competitors makes it seem like a sweetheart deal.

Seems like paying to create two classes of citizens

Why is there a separate company involved? What service are they even providing?

perhaps at theme parks or bribing bouncers/maitre's d

not at government checkpoints

As a long time CLEAR user, I don't find this to be a very "big change." They've intermittently asked to see ID in the past. It adds maybe 10 seconds to the transaction. Not showing ID is not the primary value. It's skipping the line. At busy times in busy airports, CLEAR + PreCheck is much faster than PreCheck alone. An ID check is not going to change that.

I was randomly ID checked with Clear this morning in fact. You just hand them your license, they scan it and hand it back. Nbd

So... Let me get this straight.

You handed over biometric information with the express purpose of getting out of the security theater; they have your info, they are now reapplying the security theater you originally made the (poor, in my estimation, for the reason being we'd end up at circumstances necessitating this convo anyway) decision to hand over your biometric info for, and you aren't getting bent out of shape?

I'd be livid, personally.

You handed over biometrics to skip the line. Nothing more

At this point it’s just legalized bribery and apartheid (how many Muslims pass the screening? How many Yemenis?).

The TSA should be abolished but if it’s going to exist it should be equally efficient (or miserable) for everyone.

CLEAR doesn't do any background check. You are just paying to get your own VIP line up to the checkpoint. You still have to talk to the TSA agent and show your ID. CLEAR doesn't even get you to the front of the precheck line unless you've paid for that as well. The line for precheck is usually shorter and quicker but you still have to talk to the TSA agent. The precheck checkpoints will usually just use metal detectors instead of bodyscanners and you get to keep your shoes on and your electronics in your bag, overall making the line move quicker.

The TSA does publish a list of disqualifying items for Precheck. As long as you fill out the forms truthfully, the disqualifications pretty much all revolve around the questions "do you have a felony record?" and "are you on any interpol or government watchlist?" If the answer is no to both, chances are you'll pass the precheck investigation. It's not like they send out agents to talk to you neighbors, friends, and coworkers so it's really just a records search. If you're on a government watchlist, you've got bigger problems than long lines at the airport. Of course there's always the situation of mistaken identity but there's already a system in place for that with the DHS redress numbers.

If you routinely get SSSS on your tickets, it's probably a good idea to get a redress number. Even if you do get precheck, there's still a possibility of getting demoted to regular security and a possible SSSS stamp if something about your trip is "suspicious" like multiple one-way tickets booked for a non-family group.

Waiting for a politician to run on a platform of rolling back all of this nonsense to pre 911. No nudie scanners, no enhanced gropings erm patdowns, just good ol effective measures like reinforced cockpit doors.

All of these measures do didly to stop weapons.

The problem is that, for most politicians, this kind of campaign would be political suicide. One particular side of the typical US political spectrum are already screaming at the top of their lungs about how the US is apparently the wild west with grandmas getting gunned down in the middle of the street (despite generally lacking evidence to support the claim), anyone running on a "looser on potential crime" campaign is going to get eaten alive in a primary or general.

It's hostage politics (we all have to deal with this nonsense because of a few loud loonies), but that also generally describes US politics as a whole for the past nearly-decade.

TSA is jobs program. Never getting rolled back.

Every time I go to the airport I'm shocked by how many clear employee's there are just standing around. Their company history[1] is quite interesting too. An identity verification company bought out of bankruptcy that now pulls in $500MM a year in revenue but spends $560MM? Seems like they're trying to pull an uber

1: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear_Secure

Clear makes a big deal about their biometric auth, but the point of clear is cutting the security line.