Democracy Now: One Tip Enough to Put Name on Terror Watch List

The Washington Post is reporting the U.S. government is expanding the number of names on its terrorist watch list by altering its criteria so that a single-source tip can lead to a name being placed on the list. Currently, there are 440,000 people on the list, an increase of about five percent since last year. Civil liberties groups have argued that the government’s new criteria have made it even more likely that individuals who pose no threat will be swept up in the nation’s security apparatus. Chris Calabrese of the American Civil Liberties Union said, “They are secret lists with no way for people to petition to get off or even to know if they’re on.”

~ by wheresthemic on December 30, 2010.