Airport Screening-Service Shuts Down

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DAVID GREENE, host:

Speaking of flights, a private company that promised to speed passengers through airport security for a fee has now shut down.

NPR's Wendy Kaufman reports that, yes, this could mean longer lines at the airports.

WENDY KAUFMAN: So-called Clear fast-lane security checks operated at 20 airports. But when it's corporate parent, Verified Identity Pass, was unable to negotiate a deal with creditors, all the checkpoints were closed. Clear had about a quarter of a million customers. Many paid nearly $200 a year for membership. A note on the company's Web site said because of financial conditions it would not be providing refunds. But a bigger worry for some is what happens to all the information in the company's database.

It's supposed to be encrypted and the company's Web site says it will take steps to delete the information. But Marc Rotenberg of the Privacy Information Center worries the information could be sold as part of a bankruptcy proceeding. What's in it? Information travelers gave to Clear to prove who they were.

Mr. MARC ROTENBERG (Electronic Privacy Information Center): Not only were they lived and photocopies of birth certificates or passports but also their biometric identifiers, including their fingerprints and their Iris scan and the digital photo. It's a complete toolkit for an identity thief who wanted to impersonate someone else.

KAUFMAN: Rotenberg says he hopes these privacy issues will be addressed if the matter ends up in bankruptcy court.

Wendy Kaufman, NPR News.

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