TSA tests 'trusted traveler' program amid concerns

Northwest Airlines and the Transportation Security Administration on Wednesday began testing a pre-screening program for airline passengers, but privacy advocates charged that the record-keeping system for the program weakens privacy rights.

Under the program, "trusted travelers" can provide personal information to TSA and have records of their fingerprints and iris patterns recorded in TSA databases for identification purposes at airport screening checkpoints. TSA sends the applicants e-mail confirmations if they are accepted into the program, or applicants can call a hotline to check their application status. After being accepted, the travelers can take advantage of an expedited security process.

Testing of the program begins at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, where 2,400 passengers have been accepted. Amy Von Walter, a spokeswoman for the program, would not disclose how many people applied or how many applications were rejected.

The other airports slated to offer the service this summer are: Los Angeles International, with United Airlines, in mid-July; George Bush Intercontinental in Houston, with Continental Airlines, in early August; and Boston Logan International and Ronald Reagan Washington National, both with American Airlines, by the end of August.

The test will last 90 days at each airport, and Von Walter said TSA then will halt the program to evaluate it. She said the agency will keep the information about the travelers in its databases so they do not have to re-enroll when the program is re-launched.

TSA published a privacy-impact assessment of the program June 24, outlining the process for collecting, using and securing the passenger information. The assessment disclosed that a new record-keeping system was created under the Privacy Act.

In a comment letter to TSA on that system, lawyers for the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) charge that "TSA will be under no legal obligation to inform the public of the categories of information contained in the system or provide the ability to access and correct records that are irrelevant, untimely or incomplete."

In addition, the letter said the system changes the privacy rights of citizens, making the process for correcting erroneous information onerous and burdensome on individuals.

Nico Melendez, a TSA spokesman, said he had not seen the EPIC letter yet, but he emphasized that the program is voluntary. "We've said from the beginning that the information won't be used in any other manner than for what it was intended," he said, adding that the contractors that are managing passenger information are bound by the Privacy Act.