New government computer may decide you're a terrorist next time you fly
WASHINGTON, DC -- The FAA wants to let a computer decide if you're a terrorist the next time you travel by plane -- a scheme that could turn flying into a nightmare for thousands of innocent Americans, is probably unconstitutional, and won't make the skies any safer, the Libertarian Party warned today.
"Are you ready to fly the paranoid skies -- and let security agents question you, inspect your luggage, and possibly strip-search you if a government computer decides you fit the profile of a dangerous terrorist?" asked Steve Dasbach, the party's national director.
"Unless we stop it in time, that's what could happen when the government's new Computer Assisted Passenger Screening (CAPS) program goes online."
Scheduled to be launched on January 1, 2000, the CAPS program will use a computer program and information in the airlines' computerized flight reservation system to identify possible "terrorists."
Although bureaucrats won't reveal the specific suspicious characteristics they're looking for, experts speculate that traveling alone, buying your ticket at the last minute, visiting unapproved foreign countries, or frequent travel could get you tagged as a possible terrorist. Passengers could also be picked at random.
If you fit the "terrorist profile," security agents could pull you out of line, search your luggage, interrogate you about your travel plans, tag your luggage with bright orange labels, or escort you onto the plane. In a worst-case scenario, you could be x-rayed, strip-searched, or subjected to a body cavity search.
"CAPS will turn air travel into computerized Russian roulette, where a microchip will decide if security agents should detain or search you," said Dasbach. "Last year, 50,892 airline passengers underwent some kind of body search by airport personnel. You could be next -- even if you are 100% innocent of any crime -- and their excuse will be: 'The computer made me do it.' In anticipation of such computer-directed harassment, the ACLU has already set up a special website to collect information about incidents of mistreatment and discrimination by airport security personnel.
Because thousands of innocent Americans could be subjected to such harrowing interrogations and searches, the CAPS program raises serious Constitutional questions, said Dasbach.
"The Fourth Amendment guarantees protection against unreasonable search and seizure," he noted. "There's no exception in the Fourth Amendment that says: 'Unless a computer program thinks you're guilty.' Innocent Americans shouldn't be treated like terrorists because a computer chip doesn't like them."
Also, the CAPS program almost certainly won't save a single life, because current airport security has been 100% effective in stopping terrorist threats.
"Ironically, CAPS is being mandated at the same time the government admits the danger of airline terrorist threats in the United States is all but non-existent," said Dasbach.
In fact, over the past 20 years, a total of zero lives have been lost on American soil because of airline terrorism, according to the government -- and airline travel is officially 100 times safer than driving.
Despite this, the Federal Aviation Administration has already budgeted $157 million for the project, and is asking Congress for another $100 million.
The decision to go ahead with the CAPS program was made by the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security following the explosion of TWA flight 800 -- which later turned out to be a mechanical malfunction.
"It's typical of the government: In order to solve a problem that doesn't exist, politicians want to hijack your privacy, spend your money, and strip you of your Constitutional rights," said Dasbach. "You don't need a computer to figure out where the real threat to our security comes from. It's the politicians who support this frightening Spy-Before-You-Fly program."
On the positive side, the FAA is accepting public comments about the CAPS program until August 17, so there may still be time to stop it, said Dasbach.
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