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Trump Administration to Scale Back “Quiet Skies” Surveillance Program

HeadlineDec 18, 2018

Back in the United States, the Trump administration is rolling back a federal surveillance program known as “Quiet Skies,” but U.S. air marshals will continue to track airline passengers whom they deem suspicious. In July, The Boston Globe revealed the existence of the domestic surveillance program run by the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, which has been shadowing U.S. citizens on planes and in airports since 2012. Under the “Quiet Skies” program, federal air marshals collected information about U.S. travelers’ common behaviors, like using the bathroom repeatedly, sleeping on flights or sweating heavily. Under changes announced Monday, air marshals will continue to profile passengers but will no longer report many of their observations to other intelligence agencies.

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