TSA watch list routinely snags innocent travelers

April 10, 2003 - CAPPS News

The aviation "watch list", designed to catch terrorists before they board planes, has instead consistently identified innocent travelers, according to documents obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). In documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, travelers report being unable to remove their names from the watch lists despite repeated efforts. The TSA denied such a list existed until last fall, but now admits that the list is problematic and it isn't easy for people to clear their names. While TSA officials "hope" that the new CAPPS II system will be more accurate, David Sobel of EPIC suggests that this is unlikely.

Source: Wired News

More information is available at <http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,58386,00.html>.

Last updated April 11, 2003