Airlines Ordered to Expose Data

Found on Wired on Saturday, 13 November 2004
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Homeland security officials accidentally revealed on Friday that the Transportation Security Administration will soon officially order America's airlines to turn over a month of passenger data to test a new passenger screening system.

The TSA announced in late September its intention to order all 72 domestic airlines to turn over the passenger records -- which can include credit card numbers, phone numbers, addresses and health conditions -- in order to stress-test a centralized passenger screening system called "Secure Flight."

"Our concern is understandable: Airlines cannot be subject to the potentially conflicting demands of TSA's Secure Flight test program and European (or other nations') data protection requirements," wrote ATA Deputy General Counsel James L. Casey.

"TSA is aware of, and sensitive to, the need to preserve Americans' freedom while pursuing better security," the agency wrote.

Witness the creation of the transparent civilian: collect all info to control every single step. Besides, how should this project provide a better security if the US is not allowed to use data from non-US passengers? Either all the security problems arise from US citizens, or they will ignore the laws of other countries (which is a bad idea).