'Tracking Foreign Visitors

A system to enable federal authorities to track foreigners in the United States via a global network of databases and biometric sensors raises questions about its feasibility as well as its impact on visitors' privacy. Three bidders are vying for the US-Visit contract from the Homeland Security Department, which could end up costing up to $15 billion. The system is designed to set up 'virtual' borders where people seeking to enter the country are first screened by the database network, and are subjected to 'real-time identification' at checkpoints to confirm their identity, after which they can be monitored within the United States, at least in theory. Under secretary for border security Asa Hutchinson calls the system an all-inclusive solution that 'is hugely important for the security of our country and for the wise use of our limited resources.' The company that wins the contract will be responsible for developing a standard that blends multiple tools, including photos, fingerprints, iris scanning, and others. Privacy proponents are concerned that the US-Visit program will give the federal government even more authority to track visitors' movements by exploiting databases that contain credit card data and other kinds of sensitive information, which could be construed as privacy infringement; what is more, civil libertarians claim the system could just as easily be employed to monitor American citizens. Furthermore, reports from the General Accounting Office indicate that progress to address issues related to the system's management and oversight has been moving at a sluggish clip, while report author Randolph Hite argues that the effort's cost and viability remain high concerns. M" - John Markoff, New York TImes, May 24, 2004, via ACM News Service