Thursday, July 03, 2008

State Dept Prefers Snooping In Passports To Globe Or Enquirer

There are many Americans who are obsessed with the lives of our nation's celebrities. To find out the latest dress worn, spouse cheated on or general gossip, there are many avenues to find that out, whether it be in the tabloids or tabloid TV shows. But if you work in the State Department, there are ways of finding out information without picking up the rags at the supermarket.

From TPM:

A report from the department's inspector general to be released Thursday said that a survey of the records of 150 notable politicians, athletes and entertainers found that 127 of them had been accessed, some of them multiple times. The report did not say whether they had been viewed for legitimate reasons, but noted that the number seems high.

"Although an 85 percent hit rate appears to be excessive, the department currently lacks criteria to determine whether this is actually an inordinately high rate," it said.

Nonetheless, the report said investigators found numerous problems in the system that is supposed to protect the confidentiality of passport records and called for 22 specific actions to improve it.

The inspector general "found many control weaknesses, including a general lack of policies, procedures, guidance, and training relating to the prevention and detection of unauthorized access to passport and applicant information and the subsequent response and disciplinary processes when a potential unauthorized access is substantiated," it said.


There have been a general lack of any kind of control, sensible policy-making, guidance and training when it comes to any and all departments of the executive branch under the Bush Administration. This is just one aspect, one that disrespects the privacy of those that trust their government to keep their personal information secure.