Traveling? Uncle Sam is Watching

The Feds are stockpiling data on millions of Americans as they travel, the Washington Post reports. Civil liberties activists charge Homeland Security with violating the Privacy Act, saying that travel partners, hotel bookings and reading material should not be in the Feds’ database. But Michael Chertoff claims that the data helps unravel terrorist plots and avoid "inconvenient screening of low-risk travelers." 

The Feds have been collecting such info for more than 10 years, but now it's gathered by more border guards and by airlines via electronic links. Reservation systems are also coughing up data on itineraries and travel partners. Says one traveler, "My first reaction was I kind of expected it. My second reaction was, that's illegal." (More Department of Homeland Security stories.)