TSA Violated Privacy Act

pin_gween writes "Remember when the TSA said they wanted info on travelers last year? They said they were only using names to test new software. Apparently, they lied. The Guardian has an AP wire about a Congressional report on the TSA. From the article: 'The agency actually took 43,000 names of passengers and used about 200,000 variations of those names - who turned out to be real people who may not have flown that month, the GAO said. A TSA contractor collected 100 million records on those names.' They also 'published a second notice indicating that it would do the things it had earlier said it wouldn't do.' A TSA spokesman said the info will be destroyed when the test is over. My question -- will the test actually end?"

When will it end

[overshoot]

My question -- will the test actually end?

You're not allowed to know that under the Patriot Act. In fact, even asking has identified you as a terrorist; the Department of Homeland Security has been notified.

Re:Neural network?

[Anonymous Coward]

To destroy all the data, you'd also have to destroy its representation in the neural net. So, no it would not know their names.

In short, you fail it.

Re:The TSA

[Martin Blank]

The base pay of a full-time TSA screener is about $23,600 per year, not including overtime and compensation for geographical area. That's significantly more than minimum wage.

Re:The TSA

[AndyChrist]

I was singled out for "random" searches 8 flights in a row.

I in no way believe that any searches are random.