Are You Registered to Travel, Sir?
And even as some move to shovel dirt on it, the TSA is asking for comment on a "registered traveler" pilot program. Depending on how it was run, such a program could improve things or simply build a big, government-run database with no real security benefit.
For more on the matter, start here.
(via Cryptome)
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On the other hand, if you’re concerned about “sleeper” terror cells or people blackmailed or duped into carrying explosives or whatever, maybe you don’t want to create a system of reduced security that could be gamed.
I will say the RPPI’s proposed scheme is more sensible than the security-free ID cards for frequent (affluent, non-swarthy) flyers that the FAA and TSA pitched early on. I do think the user fees (here proposed as a one-time $20-$25 to defray background checks) should be higher, though, since it dedicates more personnel and dedicated screening equipment to the express line. In practice, it amounts to a perk for airlines’ regular customers, and shouldn’t be paid for with fees imposed flatly on all travelers.
Alternatively, I guess you could turn the fee structure on its head and have a higher user fee for passengers who opt out of the scheme and choose to stand in the cattle line, and a discounted fee for those who have submitted to the background checks in order to take part in the expedited process.
It will have a security benefit. We need the database to keep track who is traveling to Woodstock and the Burning Man festival.
Have a nice day.