This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on September 16, 2003). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.
I don’t know anything about what area of the country they serve, as I’ve never heard of them before, but it seems like the JetBlue airline is going to be the testbed for the blatantly invasive CAPPS II program.
In a secret, off-the-record meeting held recently at TSA headquarters, TSA chief James M. Loy informed an elite audience of conservative opinion-makers that JetBlue Airways is replacing Delta Airlines as the “testing platform” for the CAPPS II internal border control system. The meeting was attended by former US Representative Bob Barr as well as leaders from several conservative public policy groups.
Don’t fly JetBlue.
(via Kottke)
that’s really too bad, because Jet Blue was my favourite airline when i lived in NYC. The planes were new, the flights were cheap, the flight attendants were very cheerful, and they have live sattelite television at every seat. i could catch a hockey or baseball game on ESPN or watch the West Wing, as i flew across the country.
but CAPPS II kinda puts a downer on the whole thing.
JetBlue is sort of the East Coast version of Southwest. It’s no frills and I’ve no end of good things about their service.
What I want to know is how can any of that be true? I’ve flown jetBlue a ton and
they have never asked me for my ss#, any info about my family statis, ect. They have
only asked me info that I personally have listed in the phone book. Are we all just
too ready to believe such nonsense?
Misha — I don’t believe it’s nonsense at all. JetBlue may have had only a small set of your information, but when they released their records, that set could then be combined with other databases to build a profile to be used in determining whether or not you are “safe”.
For instance, you say that they only had what’s listed in the phone book. For the sake of argument, let’s say this includes your name, phone number, and address. That information will be connected to every flight you’ve taken with JetBlue. They then give all that information over to TorchConcepts, who used a data aggregation service called Acxiom to cross-reference that information with other databases, which is where it would be connected to your Social Security number, date of birth, DMV records, and credit history.
Once all that information is collected into one database, it can then be used to analyze spending habits, travel plans, etc., to build a “profile” that says what is “normal” for any given passenger. If for any reason you start to deviate from that pattern, flags start to go up, and suddenly the skies you’re flying aren’t so friendly anymore.
If you flew JetBlue between Feb. 2000 and Sept. 2002, your information may have been part of the data set that JetBlue provided, and you may be able to join a class action lawsuit against JetBlue.