7.  In Re CAPPS II
    by Francis A. Ney, Jr.
    n4zhg{at}icqmail.com

Special to TLE

To: privacy{at}dhs.gov
Subject: DHS/TSA-2003-1

I write to express my opposition to the testing and possible implementation
of the Computer Assisted Passenger Pre-Screening System (CAPPS II). As
described in your department's Aug. 1, 2003 Federal Register notice, 68
Fed. Reg. 45,265, CAPPS II will violate the privacy and civil liberties of
myself and every other air traveler and should be withdrawn.  I fully
expect that by submitting this comment I will be flagged as a "danger
to flight safety" on the current so-called "No Fly List" and
on CAPPS II once established.

Under the proposed rules, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
will have the power to gather personal information about me from both
government and commercial databases, and to use this information to
"tag" me if it appears that I may pose a threat to those aboard a
flight. Not only is this an unquestionable violation of my privacy, the
quality and accuracy of the information in these databases is very much in
doubt. TSA claims that commercial databases will have to meet a "high
standard" to be used in the execution of the CAPPS II system - but
whether or not that turns out to be the case, CAPPS II also uses government
databases, which are notoriously unreliable.

It is also unclear whether the TSA will use sensitive financial or medical
information in building passenger profiles. While the supplementary
information section of the Privacy Act Notice about CAPPS II says that this
type of information will not be used, there is no such claim in the Notice
itself. If the final regulations will be drafted from the Notice, why
aren't these important privacy protections included?  There also appears to
be no mechanism in place to correct bad data or eliminate false data,
regardless of source. Even credit agencies allow that on pain of a
Defamation of Character
lawsuit, a correction mechanism not possible with a government agency
hiding like cowards behind sovereign immunity.

Another problem is that the TSA leaves entirely unaddressed the issue of
computer trespass and identity theft. Considering the "market
value" of this type of information and the sophistication with which
criminal intruders work, this is a grave oversight. Before the TSA begins
to collect sensitive information, it must first provide the public with a
strong assurance that the information is secure and cannot be compromised. 
This is something I believe is beyond the capabilities of anyone with a GS
rating.

And what happens when the TSA makes the inevitable mistakes? Business
travelers on their way to appointments and families on vacation will be
unfairly subjected to detention, invasive searches and unwarranted
background checks - but they will be in no position to do anything about
this unjust treatment. Recourse for wrongfully targeted passengers is still
almost non-existent, and the TSA has yet to propose any sensible solution
for addressing the problem of such "false positives."  Anyone who
objects will likely be arrested and incarcerated by jumped-up security
guards with new badges and larger, undeserved paychecks.

Finally, CAPPS II is already exhibiting "mission creep." The
proposed rules expand CAPPS II beyond its originally stated purpose of
identifying possible terrorists. For instance, TSA plans to share
information gathered by CAPPS II about those who have outstanding arrest
warrants for violent crimes with law enforcement, and is considering a
similar arrangement to hand over illegal immigrants to the INS. The
question is, what else will CAPPS II be used for? Given the potential for
abuse of the information that is collected, this may be the most important
question that we ask about CAPPS II. Potentially, CAPPS II is a de facto
internal passport and visa system by which those who do not conform to
certain political standards as defined by the current regime may be denied
their 10th Amendment right to travel freely in the fine tradition of the
former Soviet Union.

The right to travel is fundamental to a free society, and encroachments on
that constitutional right - like requiring air travelers to provide
personal information to the government in order to be allowed to fly - must
be clearly justified. However, the TSA has presented no evidence that CAPPS
II will protect me from terrorism. It is nothing more than a feel-good
waste of effort to correct a problem that was largely the creation of the
federal government in the first place.  If the prevention of another 9/11
attack is truly your goal, I submit that allowing pilots to arm themselves,
and allowing passengers with Concealed Carry Permits to board armed (with
appropriate frangible ammunition) would do a lot more good than this CAPPS
II boondoggle.

Further, CAPPS II violates my constitutional right to privacy. Any burden
on that right must also be justified, but TSA has yet to show compelling
evidence that giving up my privacy is necessary to protect against
terrorism. Instead, CAPPS II would force all of us to sacrifice our privacy
today, based on unsupported speculation that it will increase security
tomorrow.  Benjamin Franklin had a few words to say on that subject: 
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

For these reasons and others, the proposed rules regarding CAPPS II should
be withdrawn.

Sincerely,

Francis A. Ney, Jr

My thanks to the Electronic Freedom Foundation http://www.eff.org/ for
providing the base letter.  As you can see, I made some
"improvements" that fit my own persona and provide tickets for
the Clue Train.  Some people need to be hit with a brick.  Some people need
to be hit with a BIG brick.  And some people need to have a (metaphorical)
brass ass tossed through their plate glass window.

--
Frank is a freelance computer consultant and professional gadfly. His main
hobbies are guns, computers, ham radio and libertarian politics. He lives
in West Virginia, along with his SO of eight years, a number of horses, and
a cat that thinks he has 6 legs. He occasionally entertains antlered rats
(aka whitetail deer), foxes, turkeys, woodpeckers and pheasant just because
they show up for the free food. When he can he volunteers with the local
fire department as an EMT.

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