September 2003 Archived Blogs

		w September 23, 2003
		Betraying One's Passengers New York Times Editorial JetBlue Airways passengers, more than a million of them, have been unsuspecting guinea pigs in a Defense Department contractor's experiment in mining commercial databases to assess the risk of a person turning out to be a terrorist. The airline admits it violated its own privacy policy when it acceded to the Pentagon's request to give passenger records to Torch Concepts, a private technology business that was ostensibly creating a program to enhance security at military bases. JetBlue's surrender of the information amounts to one of the most serious betrayals of consumers' privacy rights by an American business. The three-year-old airline, praised on this page for sound management and innovative service, recognizes that it made "an error of judgment" and has apologized. It is also quick to note that it did not share the information with a government entity, though it is not clear why passengers should feel reassured that it was a private company using the names, addresses and flight information to extrapolate Social Security and other personal data from other sources. More

		w September 18, 2003
		JetBlue Shared Passenger Data  Wired News JetBlue Airways confirmed on Thursday that in September 2002, it provided 5 million passenger itineraries to a defense contractor for proof-of-concept testing of a Pentagon project unrelated to airline security -- with help from the Transportation Security Administration. The contractor, Torch Concepts, then augmented that data with Social Security numbers and other sensitive personal information, including income level, to develop what looks to be a study of whether passenger-profiling systems such as CAPPS II are feasible. More

		w September 17, 2003
		Wireless Sunbathing Allowed Rhizome's Net Art News Do you ever feel that when you're online you're neither here nor there? If so, NYCWireless and the Downtown Alliance want you to explore the possibilities that open wireless (Wi-Fi) networks may provide for connecting virtual and physical space. They are co-sponsoring Wireless Park Lab Days, two days of events designed to expand knowledge of Wi-Fi networks and create new ways to use them. Aside from the "new user area" to encourage interested newbies, there will be a wireless art exhibition featuring creative and critical uses of wireless technology and a chance to play the scavenger hunt-like "Noderunner." Events will be held at City Hall Park in Lower Manhattan on September 19-20, from Noon to 4PM EST. Even if you're not feeling very sociable, you can always do some virtual people watching. --Ryan Griffis More Info

		wSeptember 11, 2003
		Three Cities Offer Latest Proof That Face Recognition Doesn't Work Group Criticizes Plan to Force Technology On U.S. Allies NEW YORK- The American Civil Liberties Union today made public a confidential report showing the failure of face-recognition technology at Bostonıs Logan Airport, saying that the report as well as evidence from two other cities confirms that the technology does not work well enough to be an effective security tool. The new evidence comes at a time when the United States is pressuring its allies to put face-recognition data into the passports they issue for their own citizens. The 27 countries whose citizens donıt need visas to enter the U.S. must begin issuing passports with biometric data by October 2004, which according to The New York Times will include face recognition data. Read on...

		wSeptember 7, 2003
		Auto-ID: Tracking everything, everywhere Katherine Albrecht, CASPIAN [The following is an excerpt from the article, "Supermarket Cards: Tip of the Retail Surveillance Iceberg," accepted for Publication in the Denver University Law Review, June 2002] "In 5-10 years, whole new ways of doing things will emerge and gradually become commonplace. Expect big changes." - MIT's Auto-ID Center Supermarket cards and other retail surveillance devices are merely the opening volley of the marketers' war against consumers. If consumers fail to oppose these practices now, our long term prospects may look like something from a dystopian science fiction novel. A new consumer goods tracking system called Auto-ID is poised to enter all of our lives, with profound implications for consumer privacy. Auto-ID couples radio frequency (RF) identification technology with highly miniaturized computers that enable products to be identified and tracked at any point along the supply chain. The system could be applied to almost any physical item, from ballpoint pens to toothpaste, which would carry their own unique information in the form of an embedded chip. The chip sends out an identification signal allowing it to communicate with reader devices and other products embedded with similar chips. Analysts envision a time when the system will be used to identify and track every item produced on the planet. Read on...