The Department of Transportation has proposed a so-called "trusted traveler card" which would allow holders to by-pass much of the security procedures at airports. The proposed card is an offshoot of the ID currently under development for transporation workers, and would include biometric data for identification of the holder.
Although the details haven't been fleshed out yet, it seems that in order to obtain such a card, one would have to submit to an FBI background check; details of that investigation coud be shared with other law enforcement agencies. I have concerns over the degree to which a "trusted traveler" would be exempt from security requirements, and how reliable the "trust" designation would be. Would a trusted traveler go through the metal detectors? Have their bags x-rayed? If not, then what level of "trust" must be proven before the card is issued? The greater the level of trust given, and the more security measures waived, the harder the card will be to get, and the less useful it will be overall.
It's not a great leap to suppose that the card's proponents want it distributed widely, and law enforcement agencies would have a great interest in collecting information about as many travelers as possible. So the "trust" threshold would have to be fairly low - maybe excluding only violent felons and foreign nationals. A cardholder, then, would go through security checks similar to those before September 11, while a non-cardholder might be subject to interrogation, in-depth physical inspection, or other intensive security measures.
The more wide-spread the card becomes, the more likely it will become - much like the driver's license - the de facto ID card for most purposes, and eventually a national ID card.
Privacy advocates and security advocates should both watch this story closely - the devil will be in the details.
Posted by wasylik at January 31, 2002 10:03 AM | TrackBack