American Becomes Third Airline to Acknowledge Disclosure of Passenger Data

[Snazzy]

American Becomes Third Airline to Acknowledge Disclosure of Passenger Data

By Brad Foss The Associated Press
Published: Apr 9, 2004

WASHINGTON (AP) - American Airlines became the third U.S. airline to acknowledge giving passenger records to the government, sparking denunciations from privacy advocates.

The world's largest airline said late Friday that in June 2002 it shared approximately 1.2 million passenger itineraries with the Transportation Security Administration and, inadvertently, four research companies vying for contracts with the agency.

Fort Worth, Texas-based American said it agreed to provide the TSA with the information "because of the heightened interest in aviation security at the time and American's desire to ensure its passenger and crew safety" following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, in which two of its planes were hijacked.

...

Then, at the behest of the TSA and without American's consent, Airline Automation shared the passenger data with the four research companies - HNC Software, Infoglide Software, Ascent Technology and Lockheed Martin, American spokesman John Hotard said.

....

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGA6IJB3VSD.html

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Now added to my very own no-fly list.

[alittlelark]

1. A good friend brought this issue to light a year or so ago

http://www.boycottdelta.org/delta_background.html

He found out that Delta was providing passenger lists to unsavory characters (Justice Dept.). He was on DEMOCRACY NOW! with the story. For some reason I thought that the issues exposure to oxygen would kill it.....I guess I was wrong.

[Snazzy]

2. There was also the uproar

that Nasa was the agency analyzing the data.

I singled out that last paragraph because I haven't heard about those companies having access to the data too.

Besides making a bad day for anyone named Hussein (or, I suppose any Arabic name), I wonder if there is a profit motive in the TSA so casually tossing around info? Bet there is.

[yltlatl]

3. I think the place to look is

whether or not any of these companies are under contract to DOD or other US agencies--I'm sure they need test data for the (now re-named) Total Information Awareness project.

[Snazzy]

4. Same names--CAPPSII

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a_J1mWAUxUKY&refer=us

U.S. Should Adopt Optional Air-Screening Program, Airlines Say
March 17 (Bloomberg)

...

The Computer Assisted Passenger Pre-Screening System II is designed to confirm the identities of airline passengers and use government databases to prevent terrorists from commandeering aircraft to repeat the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Lockheed Martin Corp., Fair Isaac & Co.'s HNC Software unit, Infoglide Software Corp. and Ascent Technology Inc. have won grants to help develop the CAPPS II program.

Groups such as Americans for Tax Reform, the Center for Democracy and Technology and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have said the program is poorly planned and may violate passengers' privacy.

Under the program, the U.S. would verify passengers' names, addresses, telephone numbers and birth dates using commercial databases. Passengers would then be checked against government files and be rated as low, unknown or high security risks.

Low-risk passengers would board after routine screening, unknown-risk travelers would be checked with a hand-held detector and high-risk passengers would be barred from boarding.

....