Loss of Privacy

New TSA rules have come into effect and they are a lot like the REAL-ID law that was rejected by nearly half of all US states. If you plan on traveling, there are some new requirements you need to know about.

The program is identified by the TSA as a “behind-the-scenes watch list matching program,” which requires airline passengers to give their date of birth, gender and full name, including middle name if it appears on your primary form of identification, when booking a flight.

The process could create delays at the ticket counter as ticket agents record the names, dates of birth and genders of travelers who have not previously provided the information.

The new law does not require identification for babies and children who fly on airplanes, but parents will have to provide children’s full names, dates of birth and gender when booking a flight.

Major portions of the Secure Flight Program will take place before a passenger even arrives at the airport. When a passenger books a ticket, the information will be compared to names included on the TSA’s No Fly List. If the passenger’s name is not on the No Fly List, the TSA will give the airline approval to issue a boarding pass.

“If you have your full middle name spelled out on your license… and you have an initial on your boarding pass, that shouldn’t make a difference,” Harmon said. “Going forward, we encourage passengers to make their reservation in their name as it appears on their government-issued ID.”

So, essentially, Secure Flight is making the rules that have been around for international flights a requirement on all flights regardless as to whether they are domestic or international.

The TSA wants everyone to follow the guidelines of “see something, say something,” without actually thinking if something is really out of place or if it’s something that’s perfectly natural. New York City officially kicked off this week-long campaign today at Penn Station with the swearing in of John Pistole, the new head of the TSA.

The program is being launched in partnership with Amtrak just months after two alert street vendors reported smoke coming from a car in Times Square. They saw something, said something, and helped thwart a terrorist attack. This just proves what we’ve known all along. The public plays a very critical role in keeping our nation safe.

Unfortunately, the public isn’t as informed as it should be and, while most people might let something slide, with this campaign in their face, they’re going to report everything without thinking. It places undue burdens upon the public to be able to discern real concern from normal events.

John Pistole should be concentrating on instead is the failed Secure Flight program that unjustly puts people on the no-fly list with no recourse to getting off or to stop being harassed each time they want to travel. He should be focusing on hiring qualified, educated people to be TSA agents instead of the “low-brow, abuse everyone” agents they hire now. Pistole should also admit that the liquid ban is not necessary and repeal it immediately.

He needs to implement consistent requirements at every airport and not let TSA agents at the airport use their discretion to decide what one can and cannot take on board. If potato peelers are legal at one airport, they should be legal at all airports. Pistole should immediately order and independent investigation into full body scanners so everyone can know and understand what dangers these machines may or may not pose to a person’s health.

Finally, these rules and guidelines should be published and readily available to the public so that they don’t have to worry about “gotcha” security procedures. Pistole needs to admit that, besides heavier cockpit doors and letting the public react to threats on a plane, everything else has been a failure and a huge overreaction to the problems at hand. He must assure the public that it is impossible to keep every 100% safe, 100% of the time, but that they are working with highly trained individuals to make you as safe as possible. Extensive training with qualified personnel instead of the thugs that man the security posts are a must. In addition, repealing the liquid ban and scrapping the no-fly list and starting over are the first steps that Mr. Pistole can take to regain public confidence in an agency that many find to be ineffective and a useless waste of taxpayer money.

The TSA has not caught one terrorist in its eight year existence. They did not catch the Times Square bomber. They even let him board a plane despite his name being on the no-fly list. We don’t need more security theater. We need an agency that understands the practicalities of daily travel and can admit when policies don’t make sense, quickly moving to repeal such measures.

Out of the ordinary doesn’t equate to terrorism. See something, be hesitant to say something. Mr. Pistole would do well to heed these words.

Here’s the cut and paste that I got a few days ago from US Airways in my email about Secure Flight.  Though you’d have to pay me to ever set foot on one of their planes again, I believe these rules are for all airlines.

Secure Flight changes how you book with US

Beginning October 30, 2009, we’ll be asking you for a bit more information when you book a reservation. The reason? A new, federally-mandated program called Secure Flight.

Run by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Secure Flight requires that we collect each passenger’s:

• Full name (as it appears on the government-issued photo ID you travel with)
• Date of birth
• Gender
• TSA-issued Redress Number (if applicable)

According to the TSA, Secure Flight will greatly reduce the number of passengers misidentified as matches to the watch list. Providing the required information will help prevent delays at the airport, particularly for passengers who have names similar to those on the watch list.

For more information or to learn about TSA’s privacy policies, including its privacy impact assessment, visit tsa.gov.

Thanks for flying with US.

Considering that my full name as it appears on the government-issued photo ID I travel with is my passport or my driver’s license, why do I then have to add my date of birth and gender? That’s already listed on all government-issued IDs. Do people suddenly forget what their gender or DOB is? I know that, if I were a criminal, I’d certainly know this and I don’t think any terrorist is going to lie about whether they are male or female.

I guess I’m just cranky that I now have to provide more information that is, essentially, redundant and doesn’t really help anything.