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Comment by stormbrew | Hacker News Reader

I mean, I agree in general but it is also likely that they're performing at least some kind of background check on you when you participate in Pre. They definitely do with Nexus. It does make a certain degree of sense as a program if you believe in the premise of the entire security theatre apparatus to begin with. Especially within the US where domestic air travel has traditionally required very weak identification (driver's license).

That is, you're paying them for the privilege of reducing their attack surface a little bit.

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They run a background check on you whenever you buy an airline ticket. The airline submits their manifest to the TSA to cross check with the no-fly list. The only thing that TSA pre does is give you a number that is unique to you (as opposed to a name that you may share with someone else). They could easily solve this by having you submit your SSN or Passport number whenever you buy an airline ticket.

I agree on Nexus, they basically do the entry interview ahead of time and then assume the answers are the same until they aren't (I have that too). That one actually makes sense.

The no-fly list isn't really a background check. It's just a simple name match, and it catches people who aren't on it because of that. An interview (like nexus or customs) also isn't a background check. These are three separate things. Everyone gets a check on the no-fly list, some people get advance background checks (Pre and programs like it I'd expect), and fewer still get an actual interview (international travellers who also have to supply a passport).

Having a unique ID number tied to other information about you (like your license ID number or passport number or SSN) allows for a more in depth check, no doubt in ways you probably don't even explicitly consent to.

If they did have your ssn or passport number from the airline at ticket purchase time then sure, that would allow for the same thing. But they don't. And if they did it'd be pretty expensive to do it for everyone. So, the current solution is basically just to make (some) people pay for their own background check.

> domestic air travel has traditionally required very weak identification (driver's license).

They have been trying to bump that requirement to RealID for years but a lot of states still don't issue it as their default license/ID so less than half of IDs in the US are compliant with the RealID standards. It's been pushed back for years maybe a decade by now? I wonder how long it'll be until it actually gets implemented.

Real ID has been implemented in every state and most territories. Not all share their databases with each other, but that isn't a requirement for usage for using the ids for air travel in the US.

After a few big delays, the deadline for having a compliant id for domestic air travel is 2023-05-03.

I personally had a bad experience attempting to get a compliant id when I lived in Arizona. At the time you could select if you wanted a compliant id or a non-compliant id. My wife and I both selected on the form to get compliant driver's license. Unfortunately when the physical licenses came in the mail they had they weren't compliant and had text indicating they weren't valid for federal identification.

We tried to get them to change this and they refused. Friends had experienced the same issue at the time, but I've been told they now have valid ones that you can get more easily.

Yeah they all offer it but at least in my state it's an additional cost which means a lot of people will choose the cheaper easier option. Also that deadline has been changed many many times and I bet it will again in/before 2023 if adoption rates don't increase a lot.

I just recently refreshed my ID and got a RealID pretty easily at least. The trickiest piece was making sure I had all my documents, had to print out a cable bill because all my bills are paperless now and mortgage papers (one of the few I've kept paper bills on for) didn't count on their list.

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