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CNN Live At Daybreak
Reservation Info Could be Used to Determine if You're a Terrorist
Aired February 28, 2003 - 06:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You know when you call up to make an airline reservation you have to give them your name and address, all that kind of stuff? Well, as CNN's Patty Davis reports, that information could be used now to determine if you're a terrorist.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ali Khan says airports make him nervous.
ALI KHAN, AIRLINE PASSENGER: Every time I approach a ticket counter, I approach it with a lot of trepidation. I mean there is anxiety, nervousness.
DAVIS: Not because he's afraid to fly, but because the Pakistani-American is often singled out for extra scrutiny. He's even been detained. The investment banker says his name is similar to a person on the airport's watch lists. The Transportation Security Administration says it's working on a better way to identify threatening passengers, soon to be tested with Delta Airlines.
How will it work? The agency plans to collect much more information about you than they do now.
(on camera): When you pick up the phone to make an airline reservation, you'd have to give, for instance, your name, date of birth and address. The Transportation Security Administration would use that information to scan databases, possibly even your financial records and check the terrorist watch list to see if you pose a threat.
MICHAEL JACKSON, DEPUTY SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: We're trying to ask a very simple question, is this individual a known and rooted member of the community?
DAVIS (voice-over): What information turns up determines whether you get a red, yellow or green light. A green light means you're not a risk. A yellow, you'll have to go through additional screening at the airport. But if a red comes your way, forget about flying. You won't be allowed. The TSA proposes keeping information for up to 50 years, but only on passengers it considers a threat. Privacy advocates call it one of the government's largest domestic surveillance programs ever and worry little is known about it.
MIHIR KSHIRSAGAR, ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFORMATION CENTER: This kind of profiling system could make airports into all purpose police stops. So if you were somebody on the run or if you're a deadbeat dad or even if you perhaps had unpaid parking tickets, it's possible that the government now has all this information in their database and they use it to get after you.
DAVIS: The TSA says it will work with privacy groups and others to address their fears, but it expects to put the system into place this year.
Patty Davis, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Terrorist>
Aired February 28, 2003 - 06:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You know when you call up to make an airline reservation you have to give them your name and address, all that kind of stuff? Well, as CNN's Patty Davis reports, that information could be used now to determine if you're a terrorist.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ali Khan says airports make him nervous.
ALI KHAN, AIRLINE PASSENGER: Every time I approach a ticket counter, I approach it with a lot of trepidation. I mean there is anxiety, nervousness.
DAVIS: Not because he's afraid to fly, but because the Pakistani-American is often singled out for extra scrutiny. He's even been detained. The investment banker says his name is similar to a person on the airport's watch lists. The Transportation Security Administration says it's working on a better way to identify threatening passengers, soon to be tested with Delta Airlines.
How will it work? The agency plans to collect much more information about you than they do now.
(on camera): When you pick up the phone to make an airline reservation, you'd have to give, for instance, your name, date of birth and address. The Transportation Security Administration would use that information to scan databases, possibly even your financial records and check the terrorist watch list to see if you pose a threat.
MICHAEL JACKSON, DEPUTY SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: We're trying to ask a very simple question, is this individual a known and rooted member of the community?
DAVIS (voice-over): What information turns up determines whether you get a red, yellow or green light. A green light means you're not a risk. A yellow, you'll have to go through additional screening at the airport. But if a red comes your way, forget about flying. You won't be allowed. The TSA proposes keeping information for up to 50 years, but only on passengers it considers a threat. Privacy advocates call it one of the government's largest domestic surveillance programs ever and worry little is known about it.
MIHIR KSHIRSAGAR, ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFORMATION CENTER: This kind of profiling system could make airports into all purpose police stops. So if you were somebody on the run or if you're a deadbeat dad or even if you perhaps had unpaid parking tickets, it's possible that the government now has all this information in their database and they use it to get after you.
DAVIS: The TSA says it will work with privacy groups and others to address their fears, but it expects to put the system into place this year.
Patty Davis, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Terrorist>
