Frequent spiers

Scripps Howard News Service: The Transportation Security Administration is about to test a new airline passenger screening system, one that bears close and skeptical scrutiny by Congress and privacy advocates.
For the first time, the government will be doing background investigations of citizens who haven't done anything but buy an airline ticket.
CAPPS II -- for computer-assisted passenger prescreening system -- will take the ticket purchaser's name, address, phone number and date of birth and run the information through government and commercial databases.
The idea is to verify the passenger's identity and determine who might be a potential security risk. Those who clear will get a "have a nice flight" while those flagged by the system will be pulled aside for a search, detained or even arrested.
Given the threat of terrorism and instantaneous access to information, such a system was probably inevitable, but it has the potential for real abuse in a society that values its mobility and privacy. CAPPS II will be the largest system of government surveillance ever in this country.
Already TSA has trimmed back the system in response to privacy concerns. Passengers with outstanding warrants won't be arrested unless the warrant is for a violent crime. Medical, bank and credit records will be off limits. The government will keep the information only briefly, not 50 years as originally planned.
But inevitably there will be well-intentioned attempts to expand CAPPS II beyond simple passenger safety to who knows what: arrest warrants, missing persons, deadbeat dads, unpaid taxes, default judgments.