Terrorist Screening Database
The Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) is the central terrorist watchlist consolidated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Terrorist Screening Center and used by multiple agencies to compile their specific watchlists and for screening. The list was created after the September 11 attacks.[1]
History, sources, uses, and scope
The TSDB is overseen by the FBI
The TSDB is massive in size and includes names of people identified as potential security risks.
The purpose of the TSDB is to promote information-gathering and information sharing different agencies, and to flag individuals of interest for closer scrutiny when interacting with investigators or others, such as
Although the government uses TSDB as both an investigative database and an "early warning" tool, inclusion on the list does not invariably prevent attacks or threats.
The FBI does not publicly confirm or deny any individual's inclusion on the list.[11]
Size of the list
In a 2008 hearing before the
By 2013, the TSDB included records relating to about 500,000 individuals.[10] In 2014, the FBI stated that the TSDB included "about 800,000 identities."[7]
As of 2017, there were about 1.16 million people on the TSDB; the great majority are foreigners, but the list also includes approximately 4,600 U.S. persons.[5]
Accuracy
The
Legal challenges
The
In 2019, in a case brought by a group of
See also
- Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS)
- Travel technology
- Computer-Assisted Passenger Prescreening System
Notes
- ^ In 2009, the FBI said that 9% of people included in the TSDB are also on the No Fly List.[6] In 2014 congressional testimony, the director of the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center said, "The Terrorist Screening Center currently stands at about 800,000 identities. For those identities, for the No-Fly List, we are looking at about 8 percent of the overall population of the TSDB are watchlisted at the No-Fly level; about 3 percent of the overall population of the TSDB is watchlisted at the Selectee level."[7]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Devlin Barrett, Spencer S. Hsu & Marissa J. Lang, Dozens of people on FBI terrorist watch list came to D.C. the day of Capitol riot, Washington Post (January 14, 2021).
- U.S. Department of Justice. September 2007.
- ^ Eric Schmitt and Michael S. Schmidt, 2 U.S. Agencies Added Boston Bomb Suspect to Watch Lists, New York Times (April 24, 2013).
- ^ a b c The Terrorist Screening Database: Background Information, Congressional Research Service (June 17, 2016).
- ^ a b Matthew Barakat, Judge allows challenge to terrorist watchlist to move ahead, Associated Press (July 20, 2020).
- ^ a b Pincus, Walter (November 1, 2009). "1,600 are suggested daily for FBI's list". Washington Post. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
- ^ a b Serial No. 113-86: Safeguarding Privacy and Civil Liberties While Keeping our Skies Safe, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Transportation Security of the Committee on Homeland Security, United States House of Representatives, 113th Congress, Second Session (September 18, 2014) (testimony of Christopher M. Piehota, Director, Terrorist Screening Center, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice).
- ^ a b Del Quentin Wilber, Omar Mateen was taken off a terrorist watch list, but keeping him on it wouldn’t have stopped him from buying guns, Los Angeles Times (June 12, 2016).
- ^ Matthew Barakat, Feds share watchlist with 1,400 private groups, Associated Press (February 20, 2019).
- ^ a b Greg Miller & Sari Horwitz, Boston case highlights limitations of U.S. counterterror network, Washington Post (May 4, 2013).
- ^ Abigail Hauslohner, U.S. family suing federal government after 11-hour detention on Canadian border, Washington Post (July 13, 2017).
- ^ a b "Statement of Rick Kopel, Principal Deputy Director, Terrorist Screening Center, Federal Bureau of Investigation". House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection.
- ^ U.S. Department of Justice. September 2007.
"our examination of 105 records subjected to the single review queue or post-encounter quality assurance reviews revealed that 38 percent of these tested records continued to contain errors or inconsistencies that were not identified through the TSC's quality assurance efforts."
- ^ Nakashima, Ellen. "Terrorism Watch List Is Faulted For Errors; Justice Dept. Official Urges Improvement". The Washington Post. September 7, 2007. p. A12.
- ^ a b Peter Hayes, Terrorist Watchlist Survives Third Appeals Court Challenge, Bloomberg Law (March 30, 2021). Abdi v. Wray, 942 F.3d 1019 (10th Cir. 2019); Beydoun v. Sessions, 871 F.3d 459 (6th Cir. 2017), Elhady v. Kable (4th Cir. 2021).
- ^
- Lee, Timothy B. (September 4, 2019). "Federal judge says terrorist watchlist is unconstitutional". Ars Technica.
- Elhady v. Kable, 391 F. Supp. 3d 562 (2019).
- ^ Jerry Lambe, Federal Appeals Court Says Government Can Put Americans on Terror Watchlist without Notice or Chance to Rebut, Law & Crime (March 30, 2021).
- ^ Elhady v. Kable (4th Cir. 2021).