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Airlines will have to hand over passenger information Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/nation/8216779.htm http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/nation/8216779.htm Airlines will have to hand over passenger information By Bryon Okada Star-Telegram Staff Writer (Peter) DeFAZIO The federal government will order airlines to hand over passenger information so it can begin testing a passenger screening/data collection system, officials said Wednesday. The system will run basic passenger data through a vast network of computers to verify passengers' identification and assess the likelihood of them being terrorists. Based on the test, a small percentage of passengers will be detained by law-enforcement personnel. Although Congress gave the Transportation Security Administration the authority to issue a security directive without a comment period, David Stone, the agency's acting head, said Wednesday that the TSA will instead issue guidelines "in a couple of months" that require the airlines to turn over the information. Only after the system is tested will the government be able to tell whether the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System, or CAPPS II, can be implemented -- or is a colossal waste of time and money. "It's provided us cost without security with no discernible progress," U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore,, told the House aviation subcommittee Wednesday. "I have doubts it's ever going to overcome the problems." Seven of the eight issues identified by the General Accounting Office that CAPPS II would have to overcome before being implemented remain unresolved, according to Norman Rabkin, GAO Homeland Security and Justice managing director. They include verifying the accuracy of the databases being mined; testing the system to make sure search tools remain accurate while handling heavy loads of data; installing operational safeguards; and securing against hackers and unauthorized users. Other concerns are internal oversight, privacy and an appeals process for passengers incorrectly identified as threats. Most airlines have fiercely resisted handing over passenger data to the government, fearing both the stigma of capitulating with a "Big Brother" program and the possibility of lawsuits. Once airlines receive the guidelines, a comment period would give airlines more time to reprogram their databases and give the public a chance to get used to the unprecedented level of background checks and data mining. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

80 000 names distributed to airlines for terror watch { September 11 2001 } Aclu sues secret gov fly list { April 22 2003 } Airline passenger screening program violates privacy act { June 15 2005 } Airlines must supply government with travel data Airlines will have to hand over passenger information Babies on no fly list vexes travelers Babies stopped from flying on no fly list { August 15 2005 } College student sues over no fly list { September 11 2001 } Delta passenger catagory { March 1 2003 } Delta security plan Feds rate travelers for terrorism { October 2006 } Fliers to rate passengers for risk level { September 9 2003 } Homeland security wants airline meal request data Jetblue shared passenger data Lockheed tracks financial records passengers Muslim names no fly list { February 21 2003 } No fly blacklists { September 27 2002 } No fly list flagged any t kennedy { August 20 2004 } No fly list raises civil liberty concerns Push airlines for passenger records { January 12 2004 } Senator kennedy on no fly list Travellers rated by Automated Targeting System Two women sue fbi no fly list { April 22 2003 } Us europe clash over passenger data { September 19 2003 } Us sued no fly list { April 22 2003 } Files Listed: 25

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