Sen. Tester protects pilot privacy rights

(U.S. SENATE) - Senator Jon Tester says a proposal from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to force non-commercial pilots to disclose unnecessary flight information is a threat to individual security and violates the privacy of general aviation companies and pilots.

Tester wrote to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood to raise concerns over the proposed rule from the FAA. A bipartisan coalition of Senators signed the letter.

The FAA's proposal would force general aviation pilots to disclose their aircraft movement, allowing public and for-profit flight tracking programs to track all general aviation flights--which threatens basic privacy rights and business competition.

Tester, a member of the Senate's General Aviation Caucus, says the new policy violates the privacy of law-abiding pilots and is unnecessary because general aviation flights are already monitored and tracked by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies.

"If the proposed changes are put in place, anyone with a computer and easily accessible tracking technology can cyber-stalk owners or operators of general aviation aircraft," Tester wrote. "We also are concerned that this decision sets a dangerous precedent for the ability of the government to disseminate the travel information of any citizen, regardless of the mode of transportation."

"The Montana Pilot's Association fully supports Senator Tester's efforts to protect the privacy rights of general aviation pilots," said Jon Hudson, President of the Montana Pilots' Association. "The diminishment of any individual's or group's rights, in this case the right to privacy, represents the diminishment of every citizen's rights. There is no compelling need for this information to be made available to the general public. "

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Business Roundtable, and the American Civil Liberties Union have all expressed concerns over the FAA's proposal.

Tester is a staunch advocate for protecting the privacy of law-abiding Americans. Earlier this month, he became the first U.S. Senator to question a new policy by the FBI allowing agents more leeway to search databases and launch investigations without proper justification.

Read this original document at: http://tester.senate.gov/Newsroom/pr_070111_pilot_privacy.cfm