Aero-News: Quote of the Day

ANN's Quote of the Day usually derives from current news, though we reserve the right to pick quotes out of history that have a bearing on the day's events and issues.

Sometimes, you'll find them timely and in keeping with the content of the day's news... and sometimes, they'll just be thought-provoking.

Reader suggestions and comments are welcome... and if particularly intriguing, timely, or poignant, may themselves become future Quotes of the Day.

Let us hear from you, folks!

Aero-News Quote of the Day

"No Privacy Act violation by TSA employees occurred in connection with this incident. There is no evidence that any data were provided directly to TSA or its parent agency at the time, DOT. On the contrary, the evidence demonstrates that passenger data were transferred directly by jetBlue’s contractor, Acxiom, to Torch Concepts. As a result, the Privacy Act of 1974, which regulates the Federal Government’s collection and maintenance of personally identifiable data on citizens and legal permanent residents, does not appear to have been violated by TSA actions. Because TSA did not receive passenger data, no new system of records under the Privacy Act was established within TSA, nor was any individual’s personal data used or disclosed by TSA, its employees or contractors, in violation of the Privacy Act."

Source: The Department of Homeland Security's Final Report on how and why a TSA official obtained more than five million archived passenger records from JetBlue for use by the Army and one of its contractors. The finding says TSA didn't break the letter of the law when it asked JetBlue for access to passenger records, but certainly pushed the edge of the envelope when it asked for the records and didn't notify the public.

FMI: www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/PrivacyOffice_jetBlueFINAL.pdf