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January 18, 2005
Gimme a Little Privacy, Will Ya?
If you're among the millions of Americans who took airline flights in the months before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the FBI probably knows about it - and possibly where you stayed, whom you traveled with, what credit card you used and even whether you ordered a kosher meal.
The bureau is keeping 257.5 million records on people who flew on commercial airlines from June through September 2001 in its permanent investigative database, according to information obtained by a privacy group and made available to The Associated Press.
Knowing all that, get this whopper:
Citing privacy concerns, the FBI didn't reveal which airlines turned over the information, which airline employees turned it over and which FBI special agents got it. (Emphasis mine.)
Ah, so there are no "privacy concerns" about the FBI's keeping 257.5 million records on airline passengers, but the FBI couldn't possibly tell us which airlines or employees supplied the information or which FBI agents got it. Apparently the government's privacy, and that of its flunkies in the airline industry, is of paramount importance, but the privacy of ordinary citizens isn't worth squat.
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.
Posted by Mike Tennant at January 18, 2005 11:29 AM
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