quote:

The 39 steps to convincing the US I am not an international
terrorist

LEE RANDALL


THERE'S trouble brewing between the increasingly Orwellian country
that is my native land and the EU, where I now reside. In an effort
to prevent anything like the September 11 disaster recurring, the US
Department of Homeland Security wants to implement a new Computer
Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS II) that will identify
potential terrorists before they board an aeroplane.

Sounds reasonable, you think? Well, it would mean a lot more than X-
raying your handbag, removing your shoes, surrendering your tweezers
and letting someone pass a metal detector beneath your oxters.

Potential passengers would provide airlines with their full name,
address, telephone number and date of birth, plus information about
their itinerary.

So far, so run of the mill, and except for the birthday, it's mostly
stuff they know already via the booking process. What's troubling
those of us with a healthy regard for civil liberties is that CAPPS
II would automatically feed those stats into a web of databases to
learn more about you.

Once `analysed', these facts would earn you one of three labels:
green (not a terrorist), yellow (maybe a terrorist) or red
(definitely a terrorist and would you mind slipping on these lovely
silver bracelets?).

Putting the enormous potential for error to one side, this is the
stuff of nightmares. An entire life revealed through your internet
visits, credit card purchases, traffic violations and God knows what
else.

No machine is subtle enough to realise that those five copies of the
SAS Survival Guide were stocking-stuffers for your book group -
it'll presume you've started a terrorist cell. Do you really need 10
cans of Nitromors to strip a pine door, or are you planning an acid
attack on your MSP? And why exactly did you request a kosher meal on
your last transatlantic flight?

Get the picture? The EU does. ''''''''

When the Americans told Fritz Bolkestein, EU Commissioner
responsible for data protection, that they wanted all airlines to
gather and report 39 pieces of information about everyone booking a
ticket, he replied that only 19 could be considered under EU
legislation. The US is standing fast, and there's a fascinating
fight brewing.