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An Airline Traveler Screening Program

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As we live our everyday lives day to day, data is being gathered from each and every one of us; often without our consent or realization. Data is being gathered constantly when we subscribe to magazines, when we use coupons, when we use our credit cards and when we browse the Internet. Following the 9/11 attacks, the government and law enforcement proposed to develop an airline traveler screening program that would consolidate these pieces of consumer data information. It was not implemented due to its controversial nature. However, privacy and civil liberty advocates are constantly questioned, “What are you afraid of? What do you have to hide? If you haven 't done anything wrong, what 's there to worry about?". They insinuate that data is harmless, but according to law professor, Jeffrey Rosen’s book The Unwanted Gaze, you are not your profile. These datasets can contain errors. Furthermore, its misuse and revelation of information to strangers can lead to misjudgment, wrong conclusions and violations of privacy rights. In this paper, I am working on the topic of privacy in data mining operations as it relates to Kaplan’s call to balance public interest and privacy rights. The 2011 U.S. Supreme Court case, Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc. was decided on the grounds of free speech, contrary to the presumption of health data confidentiality (Kaplan, 2014). Thus, this case aids us in the understanding that there is a need to protect sensitive information, along with

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