20 • May 6 - 19, 2016 • The Log
Eyes everywhere: Is Orwell’s fi ctional ‘1984’ becoming reality?
It is easier than ever for the government to keep tabs on boaters, but there are limitations … for now.
By Parimal M. Rohit
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — Would you sacrifi ce your right to privacy in the name of safety and security? The Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security, among other government and law enforcement agencies, are becoming savvier at monitoring everyday human activity, almost always in the name of safety and security. Cameras at street inter- sections, satellites just beyond Earth’s atmosphere, GPS programming as a common feature in new vehicles and cell phones – it is becoming harder and harder to hide. Maybe the best place to fi nd some
privacy is to hop on a boat and sail out to sea, where it is just you, the water, and marine life. Alas even the deep blue sea cannot offer you much seclu- sion anymore. Many boats now have some form of GPS units attached to them. Even using a VHF radio can reveal where you are or listen in on other people’s conversations. Some boaters might even want to install a Nationwide Automatic Identifi cation System (NAIS) transpon- der onto their vessel. Coast Guard offi - cials say the NAIS helps promote safe navigation and a more secure coast- line. However, boaters risk giving up personal information to governmental offi cials in exchange for the promises of safety and security. Is safety and security worth the challenges to privacy protections? What protections do boaters have to ensure the government does not overstep its bounds in analyzing the information gathered?
Nationwide Automatic Identifi cation System
Federal offi cials implemented
NAIS in response to the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 and the Coast Guard launched its NAIS pro- gram in 2004 to monitor maritime traf- fi c in the name of promoting safety in all waterways in and around the United States, according to the Coast Guard. The intent of the vessel-monitoring
program, according to the Coast Guard, is to improve security, promote navi- gational safety, conduct search and rescue operations when needed, and provide environmental protection services. “NAIS data helps the Coast Guard
monitor traffi c in ports and U.S. waters and can be used to manage emergency responses and organize port activities like inspections,” the Coast Guard fact sheet read.
Coast Guard offi cials also stated the monitoring system could help the agency reduce spending by replacing physical buoys with virtual equivalents. “The system also increases mari-
ners’ awareness by broadcasting electronic aids to navigation and environmental data that are displayed on shipboard navigation systems,” the NAIS fact sheet continued. “The Coast Guard can broadcast various types of virtual markers to vessels, warning them of potential hazards or advising them of traffi c patterns in port areas.” Just what, exactly, is the Coast
Guard’s intention with NAIS? Coast Guard offi cials issued a fact sheet about the system in 2015 and stated any vessel with an Automatic Identifi cation System (AIS) transpon- der installed would transmit a radio signal to federal offi cials. The signal would provide offi cials with, at mini- mum, the vessel’s name, position and course.
The initial implementation of NAIS
infrastructure would monitor 58 ports and 11 coastal areas across the country, including the Port of Long Beach. The Coast Guard’s operation at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach previously shared data collected by the NAIS. A second round of expansion would
allow the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security to transmit data out to 24 nautical miles and receive data from vessels within a 50-nautical- mile range. Permanent receivers would be able to observe boating traffi c as far as 2,000 miles away from the coast. At least 51 ports and nine coastal
areas across the U.S. were installed with permanent NAIS infrastructure. A few other ports and coastal areas currently have interim NAIS infra- structure and are pegged to become permanent. The identifi cation system received about 92 million daily messages from 12,700 vessels, according to the Coast Guard. Information could be col- lected on crew information, vessel, voyage, boat ownership, and cargo, among other items. NAIS transponders are optional on boats smaller than 65 feet in length. No information has been made
available about the cost of the NAIS program.
Data Collected The Coast Guard and Department
of Homeland Security collects and presents its data in a variety of for- mats, including raw information in ASCII, formatted spreadsheets with heading readings, heat maps, graphic images, and animation. ASCII and formatted data appear
to be available to anyone who for- mally requests them (such as through FOIA). However heat maps, graphics and animation formats are, accord-
Equipment used to help boaters to safely navigate through fog or other tough conditions could also transmit data to local, state and federal government offi cials. How much personal information could the government use and for what purpose?
ing to the Department of Homeland Security, intended for communications between government agencies and “will not be created solely to fi ll FOIA requests.” Heat maps, for example, could
show the density of boat travel in a given area during, say, a one-month stretch of time. Graphics and anima- tion formats provide similar historical information.
Recipients of Data Dozens of agencies and organiza-
tions across the country receive NAIS data, according to information released by EPIC. A partial list of recipients include the Port of Long Beach, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Naval Air Warfare Center in Point Mugu (just south of Channel Islands Harbor), Port of Stockton Custom Border Patrol, Boeing, the U.S. Navy in San Diego,
U.S. Coast Guard Academy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and departments of Homeland Security, Justice and Transportation, among others.
EPIC Lawsuit The Electronic Privacy Information
Center (EPIC), a nonprofi t research center based in Washington, D.C., fi led a lawsuit against the Coast Guard after the federal agency reportedly failed to respond to the group’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. A copy of the 10-page complaint
(fi led in a federal district court in September 2015) obtained by The Log revealed EPIC accused the Coast Guard of not complying with a FOIA request and withholding documents about the NAIS program. NAIS, according to the EPIC lawsuit,
is a “system established by the federal government to monitor the identity,
By The Numbers
Coverage, in miles, of coast permanent receivers will be able to observe
2,000 12,700
# of unique vessels feeding information to NAIS
92,000,000
# of messages received daily by NAIS
SOURCE: U.S. Coast Guard/Department of Homeland Security
Size, in feet, of ships generally required to possess a NAIS transponder
65
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