Prove you aren’t a terrorist: what’s your birthday?
A recent decision by the Transportation Security Administration would allow airlines to store the birth dates of their passengers in an effort to more quickly verify passenger identity and to eliminate any confusion if said passenger’s name just so happened to match that of someone on a terrorist watchlist.
It is no secret that the TSA maintains two lists. No, not a “naughty” and a “nice” list. Well, sort of.
One list is a strictly “no fly” directory and the other being a list that tags a person for “special attention” at check-in and security. If your name matches one of those on the “special attention” list, you are currently required to check-in in-person with an agent at the airport. Online check-in is not an option for you. (Sorry, thanks for playing anyway!)
Now perhaps I’m totally missing something here, so help me out. This clearly is betting against the odds. What are the odds that there are two people sharing a name and a birthdate - and one happens to be a terrorist and the other does not? What are the odds of this occurring? Take a guess.
My guess would be: slim to none.
Still, wouldn’t you think there might be, oh say…about three thousand other ways to verify that a person wasn’t a terrorist - ways that didn’t involve something as…oddball as birthdate verification?
Of course, I shouldn’t be surprised. This is the TSA who also made the brilliant decision to once again allow corkscrews, nail files and real scissors to be carried on-board flights because heaven forbid, someone need their corkscrew mid-flight and not have access to it!
I…just…no words.
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