Originally Posted by red456
Just as frightening as TSA agents being authorized to identify travelers for the full-scale grope, is the info in the Washington Post article regarding the proposal for the CDC to require airlines to gather information on travelers:
"Just a week before the TSA's changes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced plans to collect detailed airline traveler information, such as e-mail addresses and even the names of travel companions. The CDC is attempting to maintain a passenger database so federal health officials can warn travelers of potential outbreaks of communicable diseases.
...
The CDC is requiring airlines to collect passengers' home addresses, emergency contact information and phone numbers, as well as information on traveling companions.
Airline industry executives say securing the passenger information while maintaining traveler privacy is a major undertaking and may even require some airlines to update their reservation systems, an investment that many airlines may have difficulty affording."
From a public health perspective, this makes some sense. In this time of H5N1 bird flu and SARS, tracking passengers, especially those flying from areas known to have substantial outbreaks of contagious diseases, may assist authorities in limiting outbreaks here in the U.S. Of course, this is just more information in government databases, a troubling development in terms of privacy. But with the specter of a flu pandemic against the backdrop of rapid transportation around the world, this information could be vital. Just my .02 worth.