« Demand Your Data! Exercise The Right To Your Travel Records Held By The TSA | Main | SWAT Team Raids Utah Ravers »
August 23, 2005
Questions About TSA Records Requests
By Ann Harrison
ah@well.com
Thanks to everyone who wrote in with questions about requesting their TSA records under the Privacy Act. I was thrown by my horse this weekend and spent a few days limping around. But I'm back in the saddle now to answer your questions.
Scott wanted to know if I had requested my records, and if so, what did they say. I have just sent my own request off - so I can't tell you yet what my records say. The four Alaskan plaintiffs who asked for their TSA records have not received their records either - hence their lawsuit. We'll keep you posted Scott. In the meantime, I encourage you to request your own and find out for yourself.
Robb wanted to know what to do if he discovered his TSA travel records were inaccurate. Write to the TSA and correct them. If you don't, they may confuse you with someone else or violate your rights based on flawed data. Henry wanted to know how to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the TSA. According to my brother, Jim Harrison, who filed the Privacy Act request on behalf of the Alaskan plaintiffs, the TSA treats Privacy Act requests just like a FOIA request - so you don't have to write a separate letter for records under FOIA. Just use the sample Privacy Act request letter as a template for both requests
Fred informed me that I had a misspelling in my sample TSA letter which I corrected. Thank you Fred. Adam wanted to add some fancy wordsmithing to my sample TSA letter. You can if you want, but I advise against it. The letter I posted is based on one with precise legal language that the TSA accepted as an actual Privacy Act request.
Neil wanted to know if he should put in a request for his TSA records even if he hadn't flown in June 2004. The answer is - yes! The TSA vacumed up not only the names of people who the airlines said flew in June 2004, but also variations on those names. This means that even if you didn't fly at that time, your name may still be in the TSA test database for Secure Flight. So go ahead and request your records anyhow.
If you have more questions about accessing your TSA travel records, please let me know. I want to encourage you to get those records and find out what kind of data the government has gathered.
Posted by ann at August 23, 2005 02:00 PM
Comments
Hello: Many thanks. I sent my request in and got a couple of follow up letters. Here is the punchline of the latest letter (which I'd be happy to fax if you'd like to see): "TSA is writing to request that you identify the air carrier you flew on and the dates of travel to assist in processing your request more quickly. In addition, please provide the contact phone number that you may have used to make your reservation. Without the phone number, we will in many cases be unable to determine whether a potentially responsive record belongs to you because many of the air carrier records lack a home address, and virtually none contain a date of birth. Also, you must confirm whether you are a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident alien. TSA requires citizenship information in order to determine whether your request can be processed under the Privacy Act, or under the FOIA only. Please provide the information within 10 days of receiving this letter. If we do not receive a response, we will administratively close your request."
It takes no stretch of the imagination to suspect that TSA's FOIA/Privacy Act Division has been turned into a fishing operation. But I have the information they are requesting and despite feeling baited may be prepared to provide it. Seems a bit brer-rabbit-ish of them, but OK maybe I'll do it. So here's my question: I would like to demand that the information TSA now requests be used by only for the purpose for which it is requested, not provided to any other government agency or office nor to any other third party, and destroyed following the processing of my FOIA and Privacy Act requests. But is there some standard legal boiler-platey way I should make that request, and is there something more I should ask for? If on the other hand you'd think I should instead say "no way why in the world would I ever give you what you shouldn't have to begin with;" have you any advice about how best to word that?
thanks and best regards,
Jim
Posted by: Jim at September 16, 2005 09:59 AM
I just got the same letter that Jim got, asking for travel dates and the reservation phone number. I'm afraid that the reality is that they do have information on me, but not very good search capability. My phone number is in the phone book, so that's not information I'm trying to keep hidden, but I wonder if I have any reason to not give them the dates of travel.
Posted by: Nathan Williams at September 19, 2005 09:25 AM
I am not surprised that TSA has asked for travel dates and carriers - they also asked the Alaskans to provide this information. But
asking for phone numbers and proof of citizenship - with a 10-day deadline - seems like a clear attempt to discourage people from asking for their records. If TSA actually does need the information to do the records search, it suggests that the Secure Flight system simply doesn't work.
I am the author of this blog and I have passed along your questions and concerns to my brother Jim Harrison, the attorney who represented the Alaskans in their lawsuit against TSA. He has some thoughts on what information you may want to provide TSA and under what terms.
Posted by: Ann Harrison at September 21, 2005 12:02 PM
Update. Sent travel dates & carriers over a month ago. Now TSA FOIA neither answers nor responds to messages left at their tollfree no. A bit of poking around on the web got me a local number for the office's director. Spoke this morning with a helpful staff member who said "we just got some responses back from the program office on the secure flight program, and responses should be going out in the next week or two." Nice soundbite. But has anybody else had any responses yet to Round II?
Posted by: Jim at November 1, 2005 07:14 AM