Briefs

Washington Post (07/31/03) P. E1; O'Harrow Jr., Robert

Government officials want to expand the application of the CAPPS II passenger screening system, which could potentially become the largest surveillance network ever created by the government, but limit the information gathered on each individual. The new proposal was meant to mollify critics who worried about privacy issues. Under the current proposal, CAPPS II would not only use commercial information services to mine commercial and demographic data to identify potential terrorists, but would also be used to find violent offenders. Terrorist suspects' records would then be further checked against classified government systems.

Electronic Privacy Information Center general counsel David L. Sobel says the new proposal turns CAPPS II from a terrorist screening system to a "massive enforcement mechanism." Center for Democracy and Technology executive director James X. Dempsey says officials will always be tempted to expand the scope of such a system.

CAPPS II has been delayed over questions about the technology to be used and the system's danger to privacy, especially the length of time data would be held, but Homeland Security officials say the rewritten proposal clears the way for CAPPS II to launch this fall after pilots this summer. Homeland Security privacy officer Nuala O'Connor Kelly notes that the new CAPPS II rules allow individuals to access records that have been used to implicate them, a measure she says ensures fair and legitimate use.

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