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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government and technology companies will soon begin testing a vast air security screening system that would generate passenger profiles as well as a wealth of personal information, the Washington Post reported on Friday.
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The newspaper said federal aviation authorities plan to build a computer network linking every reservation system in the United States to private and government databases to help authorities identify potential threats more effectively while easing lines at airport security checkpoints.
According to the Post, the network would use data-mining and predictive software to profile passenger activity and intuit obscure clues about potential threats, even before a scheduled day of flight.
The report said at least one carrier, Delta Air Lines, has been working with companies on a prototype. Northwest Airlines has said it is talking with other carriers about a similar screening system, the paper said.
Citing government and industry sources familiar with the effort, the Post said federal authorities hope to test at least two prototypes in coming months or possibly sooner.
The newspaper said critics of the security network fear it would be a huge intrusion on privacy and would be the beginnings of a surveillance system that will erode existing privacy protections.
When told about the system, Barry Steinhardt, associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union, told the Post it would be "a massive complex system of surveillance." |
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