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The new head of the Department of Homeland Security suggested that private industry should start fishing in databases for potential terrorists and send those names on to the government, according to National Journal's Siobhan Gorman.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff this week floated an idea to start a nonprofit group that would collect information on private citizens, flag suspicious activity, and send names of suspicious people to his department.The idea, which Chertoff tossed out at an April 27 meeting with security-industry officials, is reminiscent of the Defense Department's now-dead Total Information Awareness program that sought to sift though heaps of foreign intelligence information to root out potential terrorist activity.
According to one techie who attended the April 27 meeting, Chertoff told the group, "Maybe we can create a nonprofit and track people's activities, and an algorithm could red-flag individuals. Then, the nonprofit could give us the names."
Full story here.
(Note: a correction to Gorman's fine reporting. TIA did seek to "sift through heaps of foreign intelligence information," but that is not what infuriated the public and Congress. Program researchers were building a predictive tool (think "pre-crime") that would sift through every possible commercial and government database that included records on American citizens. That included phone records , health records, veterinary records and credit card purchase data. The "foreign intelligence information" is certainly still being data-mined, if not by a black budget TIA, then by the intelligence community.)
What are the drawbacks to having a private company use unknown algorithms to search through the records of American citizens daily lives to find the names of potential terrorists so the group can give those names to a government entity with the name "Homeland" in its title? That's not Big Brother. That's not even distributed Big Brother. As Daniel Solove argues persuasively in his book The Digital Person, that's Kafka.
Here's the thing about the government. It has procedures and rules it must follow, if only perfunctorily.
So when I filed a Freedom of Information Act request to find out about the testing of TIA, DARPA had to respond.
It tried not to, dragging its feet, losing the file, but eventually they had to give me something. Granted what they gave me 18 months later was a public report to Congress and a privacy study already wrung out of the agency two years previous by the Electronic Privacy and Information Center, but I got something.
As per the law, I appealed their flimsy search. And if I don't win that administrative battle, I have the right to take the matter to a federal court.
Its ugly and slow and unglamorous, but if you are determined, you can find out, at least in outline, what the government is up to. The procedure is democratic with small d. (I can't say the same for DARPA's behavior.)
Still, if TIA were run by Lockheed Martin or some super-secret consortium of companies, how far do I get with a FOIA or even with a phone call or with a written Privacy Act request to know what information its database holds on me?
Nowhere. That's the procedure.
Let's hope Chertoff was simply doing his evil Captain Kirk impression, and his audience just didn't understand.
Posted by Ryan Singel at May 4, 2005 09:23 AM
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The new head of the Department of Homeland Security suggested that private industry should start fishing in databases for potential terrorists and send those names on to the government, according to National Journal's Siobhan Gorman. [Read More]
Tracked on May 5, 2005 06:20 AM
Post a commentDear Mr Ryan Singel,
The new New Head Of Department Of Homeland
Security had a good Idea about starting a private
industry on collecting information about
terrorists. Maybe get a little more informative
If it cost a little money. Sorry to say.
Sometimes people, In todays world tend to
look the other way. Its a real same. We have learned from previous experiences ourselves.
Michael Chertoff works for Homeland Security,
why can't he intermingle with data bases
through the local police departments.
It's done today to weed out pornographic
preditors. Or molestors. I would tend to think
that terrorism would be a more potential
activity.
Maybe we just need to hire more Police Officers,
Or have more under agents patrolling certain
districts. You never know what one individual
might come across In some container operations.
Thats a though. Tarveling inside a lined container who knows maybe even car,
Figure a good size rug, with oxegyn a food.
In todays world many people travel abroad,
if not them, at least there belongings.
How thorough Is everything Inspected?
I'm sure there been plenty of merchandise
brought Into this country duty free.
I don't think you are gonna have to wait
to here it in court.It's here today,
with all the proceedings at the New Jersey
Ports, and Etc.
We all know that the Goverment got alot of
rules we most abide by.
Posted by: David Seiler at February 28, 2006 03:48 PM