The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has expanded its airline-passenger screening by gathering information from various government and private databases, including those that the Department of Homeland Security maintains. Privacy advocates are concerned about the intrusive nature of the program, which was likened to a “pre-crime assessment every time you fly” according to a consultant to one of the groups opposing the program. Edward Hasbrouck said, “The default will be the highest, most intrusive level of search.” TSA agents are now accessing data such as car registrations, tax identification numbers, previous travel information, and material gathered by law-enforcement or intelligence officials for all travelers, not just those entering the US. The TSA has not publicly released many details of the new program. “The measures go beyond the background check the government has conducted for years, called Secure Flight, in which a passenger’s name, gender and date of birth are compared with terrorist watch lists,” noted the New York Times. (SlashDot)(The New York Times)
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
US Security Officials Use Government, Private Databases to Prescreen Airline Passengers; Privacy Advocates Worry
