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=======================================================================
E P I C A l e r t
=======================================================================
Volume 11.13 July 12, 2004
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Published by the
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
Washington, D.C.
http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_11.13.html
======================================================================
Table of Contents
======================================================================
[1] Supreme Court Upholds Block on Web Censorship Law
[2] EPIC Calls for Suspension of Registered Traveler Program
[3] Federal Court OKs Service Provider E-mail Interception
[4] Judge Upholds Country's Strongest State Financial Privacy Law
[5] Voter Identification Bills Introduced in Congress
[6] News in Brief
[7] EPIC Bookstore: Jennifer Government
[8] Upcoming Conferences and Events
======================================================================
[2] EPIC Calls for Suspension of Registered Traveler Program
======================================================================
In formal comments to the Transportation Security Administration
(TSA), EPIC has urged the agency not to deploy the final phase of the
Registered Traveler program until it conducts a full evaluation of the
program's privacy implications. EPIC argued that the agency should
revise its information collection and maintenance practices to comply
fully with the intent of the Privacy Act.
EPIC made its recommendation in response to the agency's publication
of a notice describing its plans to launch the pilot phase of
Registered Traveler. The program asks individuals to volunteer to
undergo invasive background checks and provide biometric information
in exchange for the assurance that they will not be subjected to
random secondary screening at airports.
EPIC's comments noted the agency's record of secrecy and little regard
for individual privacy interests in the development of other programs,
pointing out that the agency has disclosed little information about
the controversial second generation Computer Assisted Passenger
Prescreening System (CAPPS II) in response to EPIC's repeated Freedom
of Information Act requests and has also exempted the system from key
Privacy Act provisions.
EPIC noted that TSA has unnecessarily exempted Registered Traveler
from crucial safeguards intended to promote record accuracy and secure
the privacy of individuals whose information is maintained within the
system. EPIC's comments addressed TSA's failure to provide
individuals with meaningful access to personal information and
meaningful opportunities to correct inaccurate, irrelevant, untimely
and incomplete information. EPIC also noted Registered Traveler's
exemption from the requirement that a system maintain only information
that is "relevant and necessary" to perform the system's function, and
asserted that TSA's broadly drawn "routine uses" of Registered
Traveler data would only heighten the system's privacy problems.
The Transportation Security Administration's notice on Registered
Traveler is available at:
http://www.tsa.gov/public/interweb/assetlibrary/Notice5-27-04.pdf
EPIC's comments are available at:
http://www.epic.org/privacy/airtravel/profiling/rt_comments.pdf
More information about CAPPS II and passenger profiling is available
at EPIC's Passenger Profiling Page:
http://www.epic.org/privacy/airtravel/profiling.html
...
EPIC UNDERSCORES ROLE OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER IN IDENTITY THEFT
In a follow-up letter to testimony on enhancing Social Security number
(SSN) privacy, EPIC and U.S. PIRG detailed the role that the SSN plays
in identity theft. EPIC and U.S. PIRG explained to the House Ways and
Means Subcommittee on Social Security that widespread business and
government use of the SSN contributes to identity theft. The letter
highlighted bad privacy practices, including the general use of the
SSN as both an identifier and an authenticator, and sloppy credit
granting practices where creditors facilitate identity theft by
opening new accounts in victim's names. The letter also argued that
private investigators and others who have access to SSN databases
should be subject to the full privacy responsibilities established by
the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
EPIC's Letter on SSN and Identity Theft:
http://www.epic.org/privacy/ssn/ssnanswers7.2.04.html
EPIC Testimony on SSN Privacy:
http://www.epic.org/privacy/ssn/ssntestimony6.15.04.html
For more information about the role of Social Security Numbers in
identity theft, see EPIC's SSN Privacy Page:
http://www.epic.org/privacy/ssn
...
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