CAPPS II under fire AGAIN

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28839-2003Mar25.html


washingtonpost.com 

Passenger-Screening Plan Assailed
EU, Budget Office Among Those Saying System Is Not Ready

By Sara Kehaulani Goo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 26, 2003; Page A08


The federal government's plans to develop a computer program to screen
airline passengers came under assault yesterday from the European Union,
civil libertarians and the Bush administration's own budget office, with
each suggesting the government should resolve serious legal, privacy and
operational questions before moving forward with the program.

The Transportation Security Administration is testing a passenger-screening
computer system with Delta Air Lines that would provide the government with
more information about each passenger who makes an airline reservation,
including an individual's personal and financial data.

The system, which is supposed to replace a current computer program that
assesses risk based on one-way tickets and other outdated measures, would
then assign a color code to each passenger indicating the threat risk they
present: green, yellow or red.

Civil liberties groups have raised questions about the program, saying they
want to know the specific information the government intends to collect, but
the TSA has not provided much detail.

Yesterday, the European Union said it is concerned that the TSA's new
program would conflict with EU laws protecting personal data because the
computer program would screen foreigners who fly to the United States. A
program "with access to data banks in the European Union would raise issues
with EU data-protection legislation," said a source with the European
Commission. "The U.S. government should consult with us on such matters in
order to avoid potential conflict."

In addition, the Office of Management and Budget raised questions as to
whether the new computer program would be effective in fighting terrorism.

"I have a huge spotlight on that project," Mark A. Forman, associate
director of the budget office, told the House Committee on Government
Reform's subcommittee on technology and information policy, according to the
Associated Press. "If we can't prove it lowers risk, it's not a good
investment for government."

A TSA spokesman said the agency is aware of the concerns and has a long way
to go in developing its Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System II,
or CAPPS II.

"We are working together on this and we have a dialogue that seeks to
respond to the issues and concerns raised during that process," said TSA
spokesman Robert Johnson.

Johnson said the TSA has a meeting scheduled with the administration's
budget office later this week to continue discussing the concerns.

Separately, several liberal and conservative organizations, including the
American Civil Liberties Union, Americans for Tax Reform, the Center for
Democracy and Technology, and the Eagle Forum, urged lawmakers yesterday to
ask the TSA tough questions about CAPPS II before it moves ahead.

"Although the TSA's recent outreach to stakeholders is welcome, Congress
should not allow the TSA to develop unilaterally a tool that could invade
individual privacy and brand innocent airline passengers a security risk
without meaningful review," the organizations wrote in a letter to the House
Select Committee on Homeland Security.

Researcher Margaret Smith contributed to this report.



© 2003 The Washington Post Company



-------------------------------------
You are subscribed as interesting-people () lists elistx com
To manage your subscription, go to
  http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip

Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/