to proceed to RT screening. Controversy Privacy This system, like the related Secure Flight, has come under fire for its privacy implications although less so because Registered Traveler unlike Secure Flight is voluntary. The potential effectiveness has also been questioned. On the privacy front Registered Traveler collects far more information than Secure Flight including biometrics. While supporters assert that this program is voluntary, critics assert that RT's extensive background checks will be misused. The privacy safeguards and rules can be found in the RTIC specification and the TSA RT Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA). Many airports and airlines already offer access to shorter "priority" security lines to first class or other status travelers without requiring any background checks. Effectiveness Similar to the concerns raised about CAPPS and CAPPS II, critics point out that any program designed to exclude certain passengers from scrutiny will provide a backdoor for potential terrorists, since they would likely seek Registered Traveler status. This criticism draws on the 9/11 Commission finding that 9 of the 19 hijackers involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks were flagged by the CAPPS I system but were not intercepted, because security was focused on luggage bombs. However, those participating in the Registered Traveler Program currently pass through the same security checkpoints and are screened the same as any other individual, the main difference being RT members enjoy a much shorter wait before screening. Currently RT programs do not offer a reduced security check, but their announced plans indicate they intend to offer this if airport officials allow it. Fairness Because the Registered Travelers Program, in its current form, does not exempt members from any of the security checks of the TSA, it is often criticized as merely being a method by which frequent travelers can pay an annual fee to a private company in order to be permitted to move to the head of the TSA line and not wait their turn along with less frequent travelers. Since the TSA lines are a government program (funded by equal payments on tickets of frequent travelers and non-travelers), this strikes many as being unfair to less frequent travelers. See also No Fly List CATSA References External links Organizations Registered Traveler Interoperability Consortium Clear Registered Traveler Program FLO Corporation Preferred Traveler Program(spam Advert) RtGo Program(Broken Link - Spam Advert) Documents Technical Interoperability Specification for Registered Traveler v1.2 (Spam Advert) v1.5 (Spam Advert) v1.7 (Spam