Passengers who are disqualified from the TSA PreCheck screening program will go on watch list.

Under new regulations that went into effect on November 19, 2012 without any public input, if you apply for the TSA’s PreCheck program and are disqualified for any reason, you will now be placed onto a watch list. The TSA claims that, under the 1974 Privacy Act, they are under no obligation to seek public input on the matter.

As of November, previous PreCheck participants disqualified from the program due to certain violations are named in a new watch list that is part of the TSA screening system Secure Flight.

According to the notice, the TSA “is creating and maintaining a watch list of individuals who are disqualified from eligibility from TSA Pre✓TM, for some period of time or permanently, because they have been involved in violations of security regulations of sufficient severity or frequency.”

Agency officials contend that the new Secure Flight “watch list” is a different kind of watch list. Individuals cited on the disqualification watch list simply are banned from the PreCheck speed lane “and would instead undergo standard screening,” TSA spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said.

The TSA PreCheck Disqualification List consists of PreCheck participants who were temporarily or permanently barred for violations of certain aviation security rules such as packing a loaded firearm in carry-on luggage or carrying fake documents.

Under the new policy, the worry is that, for example, a PreCheck flyer sharing the same name as a suspected criminal might be added to the disqualification watch list. Or, TSA employees might identify matches based on comparisons between valid PreCheck traveler information and incorrect information in the disqualification database.
On Friday, TSA officials said it would be very unlikely to find clerical errors in the disqualification watch list or draw false positives because each known traveler has a unique nine-digit ID number. For instance, a PreCheck participant named “Joseph Smith” who arrives at the airport would not be mistaken for a “Joe Smith” on the PreCheck disqualification list, since the two Mr. Smiths would be registered under different pass codes.

“Disqualifying violations of aviation security regulations may involve violations at the airport or on board aircraft, such as a loaded firearm that is discovered in carry-on baggage at the checkpoint, or a threat to use a destructive device against a transportation conveyance, facilities, or personnel,” states the newsletter.

This disqualification list “will be generated by TSA’s Performance and Results Information System (PARIS).”

While the above violations seem to be wholly legitimate, it is important to note that “PARIS is an enforcement and inspections system for all modes of transportation for which TSA has security related duties, and maintains records related to the investigation or prosecution of violations or potential violations of Federal, State, local, or international criminal law.”

This seems to indicate that one could get placed on such a list for “the investigation of […] potential violations,” which would mean that one would be guilty until proven innocent.

Since there are so many people mistakenly placed on the no-fly list already, one can reasonably assume that these types of errors will continue.

“In February, the Associated Press revealed that the number of names included on the federal no-fly list created after the September 11 terrorist attacks has doubled in size in just 12 months,” RT points out. “While around 10,000 individuals were barred from flying in 2011, information made available to the AP in February of this year suggested that the number of persons unable to board planes now amounts to roughly 21,000.”

“It’s a secret list, and the government puts people on it without any explanation,” the American Civil Liberties Union’s Nusrat Choudhury told AP. “Citizens have been stranded abroad.”
http://www.lossofprivacy.com/index.php/2012/12/passengers-disqualified-from-tsa-precheck-screening-program-will-go-on-watch-list/
http://endthelie.com/2012/12/04/tsa-creating-new-watch-list-for-passengers-not-concerning-enough-to-be-on-bloated-no-fly-list/#axzz2EBTw6u2r