Press Release

For Immediate Release
19 May 2005

ACTE President: No Privacy Act Exemptions for Mega DHS Database

Alexandria, VA -- - The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) is opposing a new proposal by the Department of Homeland Security to exempt parts of a vast new database -- the Homeland Security Operations Center Database -- from significant provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974. These provisions guarantee individuals the right to see the information that has been collected in their file and to rectify any errors. It also guarantees that the agency using the information would assume the responsibility of ensuring that it is reliable and would only be used for a specific purpose.

"Exempting this database from these provisions means that travelers would have no recourse to examining the information that could be used to identify them as potential terrorists, nor the option of getting erroneous information corrected," said ACTE President Greeley Koch. "Are we to assume that no errors are made in federal records?This comprehensive database will be an essential tool in confirming the identities of millions of travelers. ACTE members have already expressed their dissatisfaction with the Transportation Security Administration's redress procedures that can take more than a month to clear travelers from the no-fly list. Exempting this new database from the Privacy Act will make an unwieldy resolution process virtually impossible."

Koch added that without the means to correct faulty information, travelers could spend years defending themselves against erroneous security judgments. And with identity theft becoming increasingly common, there is a real need for a process to confirm or deny identity data. No such process would be offered should this database be exempted from the Privacy Act.

The issue has been sent to the association's Traveler Security Task Force for further evaluation. The task force has previously stated that security agencies need to be restricted in the amount of information that can collect and how it can be used. This position is supported by Privacy Act of 1974.

The Homeland Security Operations Center Database would include:

* intelligence information and other information received from agencies and components of the federal government
* intelligence information and other information received from foreign governments, organizations or entities, international organizations
* intelligence information and other information received from state and local government agencies (including law enforcement agencies), and private sector entities, as well as information provided by individuals, regardless of the medium used to submit the information or the agency to which it was submitted.
* information regarding persons on watch lists with possible links to terrorism
* the results of intelligence analysis and reporting
* ongoing law enforcement investigative information, information systems security analysis and reporting; historical law enforcement information, operational and administrative records
* financial information
* public-source data such as that contained in media reports and commercial databases as appropriate to identify and assess the nature and scope of terrorist threats to the homeland, detect and identify threats of terrorism against the United States, and understand such threats in light of actual and potential vulnerabilities of the homeland
* data about the providers of information, including the means of transmission of the data is also retained

"We have lot of questions about this database," said Koch. "The Privacy Act requires the DHS to explain why this database needs to be exempted. That has not yet happened. How would conflicting information in the database affect someone previously cleared for Registered Traveler? This is certainly a possibility as new information is gathered and processed. Without recourse, are we to assume that misidentified travelers could be on the 'No Fly' list forever?"

Based on the available information, ACTE has joined the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) in filing commentary opposing this proposed rulemaking.


For more information, contact:
Debbie Flynn
CEO
Brighter Group
The Pod, London's Vertical Gateway
Bridges Wharf, Battersea
London SW11 3BE England
T: 020 7326 9880
F: 020 7326 9890
E: [email protected]
W: www.brightergroup.com