:: Deepquest ::

The concept was simple at first: Frequent fliers would clear a background check, become “trusted travelers” and be sped through less stringent airport security.
But now, the government’s small, 13-month-old test program known as Registered Traveler is provoking an intense and increasingly complicated debate about privacy and the proper roles of government and business. The resolution could have far-reaching implications not only for how Americans travel by air, but how they conduct their daily lives and commerce.

Government background checks conducted for the Registered Traveler program, and the biometric ID cards issued to those who enroll, could in the future determine how someone makes a purchase on credit, enters an office building or arena, turns on a cell phone or boards a train.

Frank Fitzsimmons, CEO of iris-scan developer Iridian Technologies, says millions of travelers using biometrics at airport security “will have dramatic effect on their acceptance in other markets” ? activation of cash machines, cell phones and computers, for example.

It’s a tantalizing prospect for those in Fitzsimmons’ business. But not so thrilled are privacy advocates, civil libertarians and even some airline executives who are seeing their modest idea for speeding along their best customers burgeoning into a massive commercial enterprise.

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