Against TSA
WASHINGTON -- A new mobile app that
enables travelers to file reports of alleged racial profiling by the
Transportation Security Administration from the airport lodged 28
complaints in its first 10 days, nearly three times the number filed
with the agency during the first half of 2011.
More than 10,000 people have downloaded the
FlyRights app since it debuted May 1. The app, which was developed by the Sikh Coalition and
launched
with the help of civil rights groups representing African Americans,
Muslims and South Asians, simplifies the TSA's own complaint process.
"People of all backgrounds are using the app and in doing so are
exponentially increasing the number of official complaints filed with
the TSA," said Amardeep Singh, director of programs at the Sikh
Coalition, in an email. "Since the TSA has been an ineffective watchdog
for itself, we hope the public, using this app, can be the TSA's
watchdog."
He noted that the 28 complaints filed with the app since May 1
exceeded the 11 filed with the TSA during the first six months of last
year, the most recent count made available by the agency.
The first complaint sent through the app came from a woman who felt
hassled at the airport in San Jose, Calif., after she told a TSA officer
she was carrying breast milk. Several came from men who
wear turbans
and said they were subjected to excessive scrutiny. At some airports,
the Sikh Coalition says, Sikh travelers -- whose religion requires men
to wear turbans -- are subjected to secondary screening 100 percent of
the time.
Complaints came from airports across the country, including those in
New York (LaGuardia), Houston, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Francisco,
Portland, Ore., and Charlotte, N.C. App users, whose names were not
provided to protect their privacy, wrote about rude TSA screeners and
intrusive pat-downs.
One man, who refused to walk through a body scanner at Tampa
International Airport, said that a male screener during the subsequent
pat-down "[p]ut his fingers in my pants, rubbing all around my body --
displaced my testicles repeatedly with his hand -- touched my penis. It
should be noted I was not wearing baggy clothing" that could have
concealed a weapon. The passenger asserted that when he complained to a
supervisor about having his genitals touched, the supervisor replied
that "it was my fault for being 'gifted.'"
The app is available for
Apple or
Android phones.
It has two main buttons: "Report" and "Know Your Rights." The "Report"
button allows a user to answer all the questions the TSA asks in its
complaint form
plus a few additional inquiries, such as whether there were witnesses
to the incident and what protected category of individuals, if any, the
person believes the mistreatment was aimed at. The information is
submitted directly to the TSA, with an option to share the filing of the
complaint on Twitter or Facebook.
The "Know Your Rights" button provides the TSA's own information
about air travelers' rights so users can compare their treatment to how
the TSA says they should be treated.
According to the TSA, travelers who have concerns about their
treatment may ask to speak to a supervisor or a customer support manager
at the airport, communicate with the agency through the TSA Contact
Center, submit feedback online through the "Talk-to-TSA" feature or file
a
civil rights complaint with the agency.
The TSA also has set up a toll-free helpline (855-787-2227) that
those with medical conditions and disabilities can call prior to
traveling to learn about screening policies, procedures and otherwise
what to expect at the security checkpoint.
"TSA's diverse workforce is committed to treating each traveler with
dignity and respect throughout the screening process," TSA spokeswoman
Sterling Payne emailed HuffPost. "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. We encourage any
traveler with a concern about potential discrimination to contact TSA
directly through our numerous channels of communication."
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misidentified TSA spokeswoman Sterling Payne as a spokesman.
