Automated Targeting System

Automated Targeting System

The Automated Targeting System or ATS is a United States Department of Homeland Security computerized system that, for every person who crosses U.S. borders, scrutinizes a large volume of data related to that person (see below), and then automatically assigns a rating for which the expectation is that it helps gauge whether this person may be placed within a risk group of terrorists or other criminals.

These ratings take many details into account, such as country of origin, how travel to the U.S. was funded, and the visitor's driving record. Other more mundane details also factor in, such as where the person is sitting on the flight and what they ordered for their meal.

The existence of such a system was first discovered by the public in November 2006, when a mention of it appeared in the Federal Register. The system was first implemented in the late 1990s, and was significantly expanded shortly after the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.

Rating factors

According to the Department of Homeland Security website, other information that may be collected includes:

Acronyms:
*APIS: Advance Passenger Information System
*ATFQ: Automatic Ticketing Fare Quote
*PNR: Passenger Name Record

Exemption from Data Privacy Act

Following the controversial Passenger Name Record agreement signed with the European Union (EU) in 2007, the Bush administration gave exemption for the Department of Homeland Security, for the Arrival and Departure System (ADIS) and for the Automated Target System from the 1974 Privacy Act Statewatch, [http://www.statewatch.org/news/2007/sep/04eu-usa-pnr-exemptions.htm US changes the privacy rules to exemption access to personal data] September 2007 ] .

Litigation

On December 19, 2006, the Electronic Frontier Foundation's FOIA Litigation for Accountable Government (FLAG) project filed suit against the Department of Homeland Security in federal court, demanding "immediate answers about an invasive and unprecedented data-mining system deployed on American travelers." [ [http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2006_12.php#005045 Press Releases: December, 2006 | Electronic Frontier Foundation ] ]

Opposition

Organizations and security experts have expressed opposition to the system, citing concerns about reliability and undue scrutiny.

The American Civil Liberties Union had similar concerns:

"Never before in American history has our government gotten into the business of creating mass 'risk assessment' ratings of its own citizens," said Barry Steinhardt, Director of the ACLU's Technology and Liberty Project. "That is a radical new step with far-reaching implications – but one that has been taken almost thoughtlessly by expanding a cargo-tracking system to incorporate human beings, and with little public notice, discussion, or debate." [ [http://www.aclu.org/privacy/gen/27579prs20061201.html American Civil Liberties Union : ACLU Calls on DHS to Withdraw Plan For Tagging Americans With 40-Year “Risk Assessments” ] ]

The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) requested an immediate suspension of the program, stating:

While ATS is undoubtedly raising red flags among privacy advocates and other groups that question the legality and intent of such programs, ACTE is primarily concerned with the economic impact this initiative will have on the business travel community. Delays, missed flights, canceled meetings, and potential arrests will generate staggering costs. In an ACTE survey dating to 2004, 97 percent of respondents stated that programs like this will have a negative impact on travel. This could very will be the impetus for businesses to fully explore alternatives to travel. [ [http://www.acte.org/resources/view_article.php?id=113 ACTE.org ] ]

Bruce Schneier, noted security specialist and writer, wrote about ATS:

There is something un-American about a government program that uses secret criteria to collect dossiers on innocent people and shares that information with various agencies, all without any oversight. It's the sort of thing you'd expect from the former Soviet Union or East Germany or China. And it doesn't make us any safer from terrorism. [ [http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/12/automated_targe.html Schneier on Security: Automated Targeting System ] ]

The Electronic Frontier Foundation expressed their concerns:

The Automated Targeting System (ATS) will create and assign "risk assessments" to tens of millions of citizens as they enter and leave the country. Individuals will have no way to access information about their "risk assessment" scores or to correct any false information about them. But once the assessment is made, the government will retain the information for 40 years -- as well as make it available to untold numbers of federal, state, local, and foreign agencies in addition to contractors, grantees, consultants, and others. [ [http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2006_11.php#005030 Press Releases: November, 2006 | Electronic Frontier Foundation ] ]

References

External links

* [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061201/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/traveler_screening Associated Press article discussing ATS]
* [http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/privacy/privacy_pia_cbp_ats.pdf Government documentation on ATS]
* [http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/07/2015236&from=rss Slashdot article discussing ATS]
* [http://www.epic.org/privacy/travel/ats/ EPIC - Automated Targeting System]
* [http://www.forbes.com/home/free_forbes/2007/0108/032.html Brief Forbes article on ATS]
* [http://www.acte.org/initiatives/TravellerSecurity.php ACTE - North America Traveler Security and Data Privacy publications on ATS]
* [http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~cyberlaw/wiki/index.php/Automated_Targeting_System_(ATS) Automated Targeting System (ATS) - CyberlawWiki]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Advance Passenger Information System — The Advance Passenger Information System (APIS), also often called Advanced Passenger Information System [ [http://www.google.com/search?q=%22advanced+passenger+information+system%22 advanced passenger information system Google Search] ] , is a… …   Wikipedia

  • Automated Imaging Microscope System — The Automated Imaging Microscope System (AIMS) was developed by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley and the Aging Research Centre (ARC). Steven A. Garan, was the lead scientists that developed the AIMS system along with Warren… …   Wikipedia

  • Federal Reserve System — FRB and FED redirect here. For other uses, see FRB (disambiguation) and FED (disambiguation). Federal Reserve System …   Wikipedia

  • Ship gun fire-control system — Mk 37 Director c1944 with Mk 12 (rectangular antenna) and Mk 22 orange peel Ship gun fire control systems (GFCS) enable remote and automatic targeting of guns against ships, aircraft, and shore targets, with or without the aid of radar or optical …   Wikipedia

  • Advanced combat direction system — The Advanced Combat Direction System is a centralized, automated command and control system, collecting and correlating combat information. It upgrades the Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS) for aircraft carriers and large deck amphibious ships. A …   Wikipedia

  • U.S. Customs and Border Protection — Abbreviation CBP Patch of CBP …   Wikipedia

  • Container Security Initiative — Logo du programme CSI. La Container Security Initiative (CSI, Initiative sur la sécurité des containers) est un programme lancé en janvier 2002 par le US Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CPB) suite aux attentats du 11 septembre 2001. Il… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Biometric passport — A biometric passport is a combined paper and electronic identity document that uses biometrics to authenticate the identity of travelers. The passport s critical information is stored on a tiny RFID computer chip, much like information stored on… …   Wikipedia

  • ATS — can mean: Societies *American Tarantula Society *Adventist Theological Society *American Temperance Society, an early American civic organization promoting temperance *American Thoracic Society, a society for lung physicians, health related… …   Wikipedia

  • Privacy Act of 1974 — NOTOC The Privacy Act of 1974, Public Law No. 93 579, 88 Stat. 1897 (Dec. 31, 1974), codified in part at usc|5|552a, was passed by the United States Congress following revelations of the abuse of privacy during the administration of President… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”