WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government will take over from the airlines responsibility for checking passenger names against terrorism watch lists and will begin testing its system within two months, the Transportation Security Administration announced Thursday.
The new system, called "Secure Flight," will verify domestic travelers' identities by comparing passenger information supplied to the airlines against government databases.The goal is to reduce the number of people selected for additional screening at airports and more accurately target those who require additional checks.
Secure Flight replaces a much-maligned previous TSA proposal known as CAPPS II, for Computer-Assisted Passenger Pre-screening System. Critics said it had insufficient privacy protections. Unlike CAPPS II, the new system will not seek to identify anyone other than known or suspected terrorists.Civil libertarians complained that CAPPS II would use information on passengers gleaned from commercial databases. TSA said a "very limited test" will be conducted to see if comparing passenger information against such databases "can help to more accurately verify the identity of individuals."
The Sept. 11 commission set up by Congress to investigate the terror attacks said in its final report that the government needs to take over passenger screening from the airlines.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/08/26/passenger.screening.ap/index.html
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
