With the revelation that the passport files of all three major presidential candidates were wrongly accessed, Sen. John McCain’s office issued the following statement:

The U.S. government has a responsibility to respect the privacy of all Americans. It appears that privacy was breached and I expect a thorough review and a change in procedures as necessary to ensure the privacy of all passport files.

Yes, the government does have a responsibility to respect our privacy, retaining as confidential the data it collects as a condition of our exercising the right to travel.


And all the presidential candidates might want to take a look at a recent State Department notice in the Federal Register. It would open passport files to:

• the Department of Homeland Security,
• the Department of Justice, including the FBI, the BATFE, the U.S. Marshals Service, and other components,
• the Internal Revenue Service,
• INTERPOL and other international organizations,
• the National Counterterrorism Center,
• the Social Security Administration,
• public and private employers,
• Members of Congress,
• contractors, and
• foreign governments.

So, yes, let’s talk about passport privacy!