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scottobearFollowing up an entry by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pserv about Feds Testing Air Passengers Check System
No-Delta Force
Consumer activist Bill Scannell is organizing a boycott of Delta Airlines because of their participation in the government's prototype Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS II).
The system purports to spot potential terrorists by requiring a background check on passengers purchasing a ticket and by classifying them into categories of perceived threat. The system is meeting with protests by privacy advocates for its imprecision and use of unspecified classification methods.
Among other factors, Delta may, without your permission or knowledge,
But according to Scannell,
According to Wired, not all passengers are concerned.
Proving once again that, in the eyes of some citizens, anything the government wants to do is okay, as long as they think it will stop terrorism. This is exactly the sentiment that drives Scannell nuts. Fittingly, he closes the front page of his web site with this oft-quoted observation from Benjamin Franklin...
pserv about Feds Testing Air Passengers Check SystemNo-Delta Force
Consumer activist Bill Scannell is organizing a boycott of Delta Airlines because of their participation in the government's prototype Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS II).
The system purports to spot potential terrorists by requiring a background check on passengers purchasing a ticket and by classifying them into categories of perceived threat. The system is meeting with protests by privacy advocates for its imprecision and use of unspecified classification methods.
Among other factors, Delta may, without your permission or knowledge,
- Check your credit rating
- Check your banking history
- Run a criminal background check
But according to Scannell,
All the information gathered will be stored for fifty (50!) years on computers that may or may not be safe from malicious hackers out to steal your identity. Airlines can barely be trusted with luggage. Do you really want to trust Delta with your bank account, SSN, mother's maiden name, and credit rating? By their own admission, Delta's computer servers are attacked over 500 times a day.
According to Wired, not all passengers are concerned.
"How can you stand here in New York City and question any attempt to make travel safer?" said Herman Velldor, a New York resident waiting to board a Delta flight. "Shame on you -- the airlines and the government only want to make sure 9/11 never happens again."
"Whatever works, hon," said Beth Ehlers from North Carolina. "I'm willing to give up a little privacy so that we're never attacked again. Besides I have nothing to hide."
Proving once again that, in the eyes of some citizens, anything the government wants to do is okay, as long as they think it will stop terrorism. This is exactly the sentiment that drives Scannell nuts. Fittingly, he closes the front page of his web site with this oft-quoted observation from Benjamin Franklin...
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
