October 21, 2004 | Scannell Redux

Privacy activist and publicist Bill Scannell, who perhaps is best known recently for his boycotts of companies working with the TSA on CAPPS II, has launched a site that allows people to quickly and easily file comments on CAPPS II's successor, Secure Flight.

Unsecure Flight ties into the comment system so you don't have to go through the cumbersome process of knowing the right code and the right place to go to comment on the proposed testing of Secure Flight using data from every domestic airline flight in June 2004.

TSA made it much easier to comment on CAPPS II (one was able to simply send an email to privacy@dhs.gov), and they got flooded with comments. Some (maybe all) of those are viewable here, though it did take quite a long time for the DHS IT staff to post them.

Here's two comments submitted through Unsecure Flight:

Dear Sirs:

This past June my wife and I flew to Portland for a wedding of a dear friend.

Recently it has come to my attention that our personal information was turned over to the Transportation Security Administration's "Secure Flight" program.

I insist that our data not be included in this program.

I have a Constitutional right as an American to travel freely and anonymously within the country. I have a Constitutional right to privacy and protection from unlawful searches and seizures.

Obviously databases need to be tested and it's the Department of Homeland Security's job to keep known terrorists out of the country.

What I don't understand how my personal data was included in this "Secure Flight" program with out my permission or knowledge. I believe I deserve an explanation and insist that my personal information be excluded from the program.

Sincerely,

Steven C
Ypsilanti, Michigan

and

Mark Y, NC, 20 October 2004, 12:49:26 PM PST

Wouldn't it be more prudent to just do some simple profiling first, such as looking at Muslims, foreigners, and high-risk extremist groups in the US, before infringing on the privacy of normal, everday US citizens?

The system is pretty sweet -- there's no censorship on Scannell's part from what I can tell. Comments show up in the government's system within hours, it seems. See for yourself here.

Also Defense Tech's Noah Shachtman profiled Bill Scannel in this Wired News piece.

P.S. If you are wondering whether Scannell's boycotts worked, check back this afternoon for some inside information about how one TSA employee reacted.

Posted by Ryan Singel at October 21, 2004 11:18 AM