Secret TSA 'Quiet Skies' Surveillance Program Slammed For Tracking Ordinary Travelers
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A recently exposed government surveillance program has come under fire, for allowing the Transportation Security Administration to track citizens not suspected of any crimes.
The "Quiet Skies" program came to light because of an investigative report by the Boston Globe.
Over the past eight years, the TSA has tracked thousands of U.S. citizens under the secret domestic surveillance programs.
Internal communications from some air marshals indicate some agents believe the program is a waste of time and money that forces teams of marshals to track people who are not under investigation, and are not on any terrorist watch list.
Under the Quiet Skies program, teams of undercover air marshals document a laundry list of behaviors, some of them seemingly innocuous, such as excessive fidgeting or sweating, rapid eye blinking, face touching, strong body odor, facial flushing, gripping or "white knuckling" bags, changing clothes or otherwise altering their appearance at the airport, changing directions or stopping while moving through the airport, or observing boarding gates from afar.
If a flyer is on the list for a certain amount of time and travels without incident, they are automatically removed from the list. Some in the security field believe this creates a certain level of risk because if the person being surveilled is a sleeper agent, they may succeed in flying under the radar. But congressional concerns about redress prompted the policy.
Some air marshals have complained the program is a time-consuming and costly assignment that makes it more difficult to carry out more important law enforcement tasks.
The revelation of the previously undisclosed program also has some travelers concerned.
"I can't just go to the airport, and check my bag, and go to the plane without someone getting behind me and seeing what I'm doing? I don't know if I like that at all, man," Ron Zimmer said Monday morning at O'Hare International Airport. "It feels ridiculous. Get off my back, Jack."
Natalie Brown said the federal government should not be conducting surveillance on law-abiding U.S. citizens who have no criminal background.
"I just think it's really invasive. I don't think that we need to be spied on," she said.
Federal officials would not say whether the program has thwarted any potential terror attacks.
The TSA said the program does not target people based on race, religion, or nationality.