Network World
Homeland Security plans to operate a massive new database of names, photos, birthdays and biometrics called Watchlist Service, duplicated from the FBI's Terrorist Screening Database which has proven not to be accurate many times in the past. DHS wants to exempt the Watchlist Service from Privacy Act provisions, meaning you will never know if you are wrongfully listed. Privacy groups worried about inaccurate info and mission creep have filed a protest, arguing the Privacy Act says DHS must notify subject of government surveillance.
Homeland Security has a plan to expand its Watchlist Service by duplicating the FBI's existing system of watchlist records and then feed that info into a massive database in which more government people would have immediate access. According to the FBI, the consolidated Terrorist Watchlist is "one of the most effective counterterrorism tools for the U.S. government." But according to the ACLU, FBI spying on free speech is nearly at Cold War levels and that the FBI lied to the Justice Department about continuing improper surveillance of peace groups. So it's not some kind of conspiracy theory, it's a fact that innocent people end up on terrorist watchlists.
So now Homeland Security has proposed to exempt portions of its Use of the Terrorist Screening Database System of Records "from Privacy Act provisions because of criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement requirements." The system of records to be duplicated and expanded into the DHS Watchlist Service will include each suspected terrorists' name, place and date of birth, driver's license and passport info, photos and biometric data, and other personal info.
This newly proposed DHS Watchlist Service will combine four different DHS systems of records including the TSA-managed Transportation Security Threat Assessment System and TSA's Secure Flight Records, Treasury Enforcement Communication System (TECS) managed by Custom and Border Protection (CBP) Passenger Systems Program Office, and IDENT which is managed by the US-VISIT Program. In case you were unaware, according to the July 13th testimony before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, the US-VISIT's IDENT is "fully interoperable" with the FBI's "10-fingerprint-based" identity system to run against the watchlist and the "FBI's entire criminal master file of over 69 million identities in near real time."...[Full Article]
