|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
The existing Computer Assisted Passenger Profiling System I is pretty simple, and really isn't that invasive. If you impulsively purchase a one-way airline ticket, pay for it in cash, and sweat profusely while handing over the dough, you'll get a special pat-down by federal agents of the TSA and, possibly, with good reason.
But that isn't enough, according to both the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security (HSD) who also want to use the airports as the place to poke, prod, and investigate everyone in accordance with CAPPS II. This is what is proposed: Every time you show up at an airport you will not only be checked for whether you've bought a one-way ticket with cash, your whole itinerary will be checked along with a history of all your previous destinations! Next, the investigators will run a quick credit check and take a look at your finances, and they'll even perform a little check on your shopping habits. Finally, after running your profile through the FBI and Interpol systems, you'll get a rating.
Green is good to go-it means you're no big threat. A yellow rating will get you a thorough search and lots of questions. For example, rumor has it that if you change a ticket within 24 hours of the flight on an airline that has implemented CAPS II you will be guaranteed a yellow rating or worse. Red gets you a little visit downtown—and nothing in the way of a flying experience. The trouble is that you won't know what your rating is until it's too late. Even then - thanks to the USA Patriot Act - you won't be allowed to find out what TSA and other organizations know about you. Your right to due process, guaranteed by the US Constitution, will have been set aside.
The first airline that was supposed to implement the technology was Delta (US: DAL). But in view of the company's other problems, Delta didn't want to aggravate its customers further—it is now balking at the TSA's proposal. Delta's concern has led the TSA to become less overt about their CAPPS II implementation plan, which was put on hold until February 15th 2004. At that time Congress's investigatory arm, the General Accounting Office (GAO), gave the system a failing grade for protecting passenger privacy. However, it would be naive to think that the plan is a dead issue. If and when it is implemented, the public won't be privy to which companies participate, but rumor has it that American
Airlines will be one of the first.
While other issues such as cargo screening and perimeter security at airports need to be addressed, CAPPS II is rather too Orwellian for some. A congressional conference committee, which was attempting to reconcile the Senate and House versions of the Department of Homeland Security's budget for next year, opted to prohibit deployment of CAPPS II until the General Accounting Office certified to Congress that the system will not finger too many innocent passengers, which it failed to do.
With the delay of CAPPS II, another security measure, US-VISIT, was launched in January, 2004. US-VISIT records the fingerprints and digital photos of visitors to the United States, compares names to terrorist and criminal watch lists and creates a comprehensive database on visitors and resident aliens that will be on-file for 100 years. US-VISIT has already faced strong international criticism, and a
Brazilian judge has already ordered Brazilian customs officials to fingerprint and photograph all American visitors by way of retaliation.
Clearly the merging of data from US-VISIT and CAPPS II has serious implications for the privacy of Americans, visitors and residents. And in response to much criticism from concerned parties and an story in the Washington Post, the Transportation Security Administration's communications director, Mark Hatfield, held a last-minute conference call that denied there was any intention to merge the data collection and analysis systems.
More information on CAPPS II can be found from the following sites:
www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=1115
www.eff.org/Privacy/cappsii/
www.hasbrouck.org/articles/CAPPS-II.html