This was the lead article in this month's ACLU Online newsletter.

The Not-So-Friendly Skies

A secretive new system for conducting background checks on all airline passengers threatens to create a bureaucratic machine for destroying Americans' privacy and a government blacklist that will harm innocent Americans.

The system, known as CAPPS II -- Computer Assisted Passenger Pre-screening System II -- will be tested at several airports around the United States starting sometime in March.

Like the Pentagon's controversial "Total Information Awareness" program, CAPPS II would collect information about individuals including "financial and transactional data," which could include credit card and other consumer data, housing information, communications records and health records. It would also make use of public source information such as law enforcement and legal records.

"This system threatens to create a permanent blacklisted underclass of Americans who cannot travel freely," said Katie Corrigan, an ACLU Legislative Counsel.

Under the program Americans will be labeled as a "green," "yellow" or "red" security risk. The red code would be reserved for those on terrorist watch lists. Far less clear is who would get a yellow code in their file; those passengers would be subject to extra-intensive security screening.

Details of the program reveal that a yellow code in a person's file could be shared with other government agencies at the federal, state and local level, with intelligence agencies such as the CIA and with foreign governments and international agencies -- all of which could use those designations for many purposes, including employment decisions and the granting of government benefits.

"Once the infrastructure for a system of government files and security ratings on American citizens is built, it won't be limited to air transportation for very long," added Barry Steinhardt, Director of the ACLU's Technology and Liberty Program. "Nothing like it has ever been done in this country."

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