A new smartphone application empowers air travelers to make complaints about profiling by airport security in real time. Until now, no easy way has existed for travelers who feel they have been unfairly treated to make such complaints.
The app, called Fly Rights, was developed by the Sikh Coalition, the largest Sikh civil rights group in the United States, with offices across the country including in Fremont.
Sikh Coalition Co-founder and Director of Programs Amardeep Singh told SFBay the idea for the app originated as a response to hundreds of complaints from Sikhs around the country:
“There should be an app for this.”
So, the organization created the app for both iPhone and Android. Within hours of launching the app, at least two substantive complaints had already been made: A woman who felt humiliated by a TSA agent improperly screening her breast milk, and a man who received extra, unnecessary screening.
Singh said he hopes anyone who feels they have been profiled or mistreated by TSA will use the app. He praised the NAACP and La Raza for their encouragement and active support in the creation and launching of the app.
The TSA did not oppose the app, Singh said. In a statement today, TSA stopped short of endorsing it:
“We continually engage with community organizations, including the Sikh Coalition, and individuals to help us understand unique passenger concerns and we support efforts to gather passenger feedback about the screening process.”
The Sikh Coalition hopes their app will bridge the gap between official reports of profiling and the reality of people’s frustration with the agency. According to Singh, in mid-2011 the TSA reported a total of eleven complaints for the year to Congress.
Last modified May 2, 2012 1:25 pm
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One of my favorite alternate accounts is "Genuine Reddit Bot," a little program that discovers "original content" like this great piece and posts the original submission URL... or, in this case:
http://www.npr.org/2012/04/28/151568230/profiled-by-the-tsa-there-s-an-app-for-that
Dear ReidUh - I don't know what this is about
but I spent an entire working day on this story and interview. With all due respect I find the implication insulting and entirely contrary to what Sfbay. ca is.
@kerryfreyne
This story was reported through our a direct SFBay interview with the Sikh Coalition's Amardeep Singh.
Your bot tool is interesting, but is incapable of determining whether original reporting was conducted on a story.
I commend NPR for publishing first. But we're just as capable of original reporting as they are, and that's what you see here.
Well, it's sad the TSA can't tell the difference between a Sikh and a Muslim. I guess to them a turban is a turban is a turban.
The random screening employed by the TSA inconveniences everyone, catches no-one, and is totally reactionary. Can't carry box-cutters now because they were used on 9/11. Can't take gels or liquids because of the botched body-bomb attempt. Have to take your shoes off thanks to the shoe bomb incident. All reactionary, nothing pro-active.
There's a reason El Al, the flagship airline for Israel and one of the sweetest targets any terrorist could ever hope to hit, hasn't had a hijacking in over 30 years - they profile.
Call me politically incorrect, racist, or just insensitive, but if I were sitting on a plane next to a Pakistani National with the last name Al-Mohammed I would hope he would have gone through a little more stringent screening than I did.
Wouldn't you?
No I wouldn't. I am South Asian and am tired of people casting suspicion on me because of my name and looks. What if your daughter were to date Al-Mohammed? What kind of screening would you attempt then? Ask the FBI or the police to look into the individual's background simply because of his name? What if you were riding a bus with Al-Mohammed as the driver? Would you seek out a different bus? Where does your fear end? Until you conquer your fear, I guess I will call you racist and insensitive.