WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Several groups have banded together to fight a proposed second-generation airline screening program that would conduct background checks on passengers.
The American Conservative Union, the Center for Democracy and Technology, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and Americans for Tax Reform said that while terrorists could evade the system by using an alias passengers could be imprinted with a "scarlet letter of potential threat," the Washington Times reported.
Developed by the Transportation Security Administration, the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System, known as CAPPS II, would essentially profile passengers using personal, commercial and government information -- including credit records -- to determine whether travelers posed a threat, according to Laura Murphy, director of the ACLU's legislative office.
Currently, air passengers are profiled for buying one-way tickets or using cash.
CAPPS II will not use bank records, records indicating "creditworthiness" or medical records, the TSA said in a statement.
