EFF Privacy Coalition Presses Congress for Hearings on Air Traveler Privacy
You GO EFF. If there was a real correlation between terrorism and surrender of private information, perhaps the government would have a point. However, the cold hard fact is that the majority of the 9/11 hijackers had NO criminal record and NO private information available to the government that would have flagged them. Furthermore, what information would they be looking for from American citizens that would make them ineligible to board an aircraft? Gun permits? Bad credit? Drug charges? Unpaid child support? It makes no sense.
"The amount of data -- potentially incorrect data -- that the government is asking to access before permitting you to fly is simply astounding," said Lee Tien, a senior staff attorney at EFF. "Doing background checks on every American who chooses air travel doesn't seem like a logical way to keep bombs and weapons off of planes." [EFF: Press]