Airline security after 9/11
After the unfortunate attack on September 11, 2001 the country as a whole became concerned about further terrorist attacks. Many new policies and technologies have been created in an effort to detect and prevent further terrorist attacks. One of these technologies is the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System, or CAPPS. CAPPS has been the subject of much debate concerning the exact use of the database.
The Transportation Security Administration, at the order of Congress, assembled CAPPS after the September 11, 2001 attack. CAPPS was designed to be a nationwide database that compares passenger names against watch lists, traveler credit reports, and consumer transactions. The databases considered for use with CAPPS are credit bureaus and ChoicePoint, both of which aggregate and sell information. Before flight, passengers are required to provide their names, phone numbers, and addresses to be checked for accuracy. The commercial databases will then use algorithms to judge whether a person booking a ticket is who he/she claims to be. A boarding pass will be issued with either a green, yellow, or red score. Passengers with a red score will be detained until federal law enforcement officials arrive.
CAPPS has the potential to ferret out would be terrorists; it also has the potential to be harshly abused. David Sobel, of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, stated, “Even in the wake of Sept. 11, people are still worried about the collection and use of their personal information.” (work cited) A document list, obtained from the Electronic Privacy Information Center through a lawsuit with the FBI, stated the databases “…contain billions of public records including: property records, census information, professional licenses, telephone books, newspaper articles, drivers records, vehicle records and credit bureau headers.” (work cited)
When CAPPS was first created it had very few guidelines to follow. People fear a government that heavily monitors the transactions of everyday people. [Some of the complaints against the CAPPS program specified the use of CAPPS as a method of capturing deadbeat dads, or screening out passengers who fit a criminal pattern, or that the system would retain information for up to 50 years.] Sen. Ron Wyden said in a written statement, “We cannot stand by and allow the government to shine a spotlight onto the personal records of law abiding citizens who have a constitutionally protected right to privacy. It is Congress’ duty to find out on behalf of all Americans what federal agencies are hoping to do with their personal information.” (work cited) Jim Dempsey, president of the Center for Democracy and Technology, said, “On the one hand, we want people with outstanding warrants to be caught. On the other hand, we have not been a checkpoint society. We will fundamentally change the nature of our society if we start exploiting our society’s gates for general law enforcement.” (work cited)
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