ATS: Yet another fatally-flawed secret database

More bad news for freedom fighters all across the US:

"The Automated Targeting System (ATS) will create and assign "risk assessments" to tens of millions of citizens as they enter and leave the country. Individuals will have no way to access information about their "risk assessment" scores or to correct any false information about them. But once the assessment is made, the government will retain the information for 40 years -- as well as make it available to untold numbers of federal, state, local, and foreign agencies in addition to contractors, grantees, consultants, and others."

Just another recent example of executive fiat, asserting an exemption from prior law:

"DHS has exempted all of the data contained in the ATS from the "access" and "correction" requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, which means that citizens have no right to learn about their own "risk assessments" or to challenge them. Franz Kafka, call your office . . ."

So we have data on US citizens from who-knows-what sources being aggregated and kept virtually forever, with no oversight. Not to mention the eventual likelihood of leaks of this secret information.

As we all know, privacy and security are NOT mutually exclusive, and most of the "security" efforts since 9/11 have been massive wastes of money.

I would encourage my readers to keep up with the excellent posts on the intertwined issues of freedoms, privacy, and security from Schneier on Security (an excellent blog by renowned security expert Bruce Schneier) & Concurring Opinions (particularly posts by Daniel J. Solove & Heidi Kitrosser).