Live Online Policy Forum 

# Papers, Please: Transportation Surveillance 

##### Watch the Event 

Submit questions in the comment box on this page. For event updates, follow [@CatoInstitute](https://x.com/catoinstitute) on X. If you have questions about the event or your registration, please email [events@​cato.​org](mailto:events@cato.org).

#### Submit a Question 

Date and Time 

October 14, 2026 1 - 2 PM EDT 

Location 

Live Online 

Share This Event 

[Register](https://register.cato.org/cato-surveillance-week-2026-papers-please-transportation-surveillance/register) 

##### Featuring 

[![Media Name: harper.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/authors/crops/harper.jpg?itok=I_0322Oq)](/people/jim-harper) 

[Jim Harper](/people/jim-harper)

Nonresident Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

[ 

](https://twitter.com/Jim_Harper) [ 

](mailto:jharper@cato.org) 

![Rachel Levinson-Waldman_cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2026-09/Rachel%20Levinson-Waldman_cropped.jpg?itok=jyg2NJ91) 

Rachel Levinson-Waldman 

Director of Liberty and National Security Program Brennan Center for Justice

[![Laura Bondank cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2026-04/Laura%20Bondank%20cropped.jpg?itok=5E-kUNAw)](/people/laura-bondank) 

[Laura Bondank-Harmon](/people/laura-bondank)

Manager of Legal Programs, Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies

[![Patrick G. Eddington](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Patrick%20Eddington.jpg?itok=ddIWrIm5)](/people/patrick-g-eddington) 

[Patrick G. Eddington](/people/patrick-g-eddington)

Senior Fellow, Cato Institute

[ 

](https://x.com/pgeddington) [ 

](mailto:peddington@cato.org) 

Multiple Supreme Court rulings since 1868 have recognized the right to travel, both domestically and, in later rulings, internationally, as a basic constitutional right. The daily reality for travelers is, unfortunately, far from what those rulings promised. As of this year—and after nearly 20 years of delays—the REAL ID Act is now in force, and trying to fly without such a government-approved ID is far more difficult. The post‑9/​11 “watch listing” system, which has never undergone sustained, probing congressional oversight, continues to operate in near-total secrecy. The proliferation of automated license plate readers and related technologies makes it relatively simple for law enforcement organizations to track where you drive, what places you visit, and even who’s traveling with you.

Do those prior court rulings contain loopholes federal officials exploit to monitor our travel? Does the federal practice of “watch listing” pass constitutional muster? Is surveillance of our travel by air or ground transportation simply unavoidable? Does the revolt against Flock cameras by citizens represent the first phase of a national transportation surveillance reform effort? And why does the federal government insist on tracking lobster fishing boats with GPS devices? A distinguished panel of legal and academic experts will debate these and other questions.

#### This event is part of the 2026 Cato Surveillance Week series:

[![Domestic-Foreign Surveillance](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/aside_mobile/public/2026-09/Domestic-Foreign%20Surveillance.jpg?itok=aKIsOE0U)](https://www.cato.org/events/cato-surveillance-week-2026-domestic-foreign-electronic-surveillance-nexus) 

##### October 12, 2026

#### [The Domestic-Foreign Electronic Surveillance Nexus](https://www.cato.org/events/cato-surveillance-week-2026-domestic-foreign-electronic-surveillance-nexus)

More than a quarter century after the so-called “Global War on Terror” spawned a series of government surveillance programs and technologies, a political and legal reckoning over these practices is beginning.

[![Financial Surveillance](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/aside_mobile/public/2026-09/Financial%20Surveillance.jpg?itok=TFJQH5mD)](https://www.cato.org/events/cato-surveillance-week-2026-financial-surveillance-ultimate-surveillance-black-hole) 

##### October 13, 2026

#### [Financial Surveillance: The Ultimate Surveillance Black Hole?](https://www.cato.org/events/cato-surveillance-week-2026-financial-surveillance-ultimate-surveillance-black-hole)

More than 50 years since the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) was enacted, the law remains one of the most invasive from a personal privacy standpoint.

[![Travel Surveillance.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/aside_mobile/public/2026-09/Travel%20Surveillance.jpg?itok=ZPRL51kK)](https://www.cato.org/events/cato-surveillance-week-2026-papers-please-transportation-surveillance) 

##### October 14, 2026

#### [Papers, Please: Transportation Surveillance](https://www.cato.org/events/cato-surveillance-week-2026-papers-please-transportation-surveillance)

Multiple Supreme Court rulings since 1868 have recognized the right to travel, both domestically and, in later rulings, internationally, as a basic constitutional right.

[![Commercial Data Surveillance](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/aside_mobile/public/2026-09/Commercial%20Data%20Surveillance.jpg?itok=0CTKDN7n)](https://www.cato.org/events/cato-surveillance-week-2026-commercially-available-data-fourth-amendment-loophole) 

##### October 15, 2026

#### [Commercially Available Data: The Fourth Amendment Loophole?](https://www.cato.org/events/cato-surveillance-week-2026-commercially-available-data-fourth-amendment-loophole)

With geolocation data, tracking ads, and your purchase history, the list of commercially available personal data that federal, state, and local law enforcement can acquire—using our own tax dollars to do so—is a long one.

[![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) 
This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).