Clear, the card that promised to zip frequent fliers through security at airports across the country, has ceased operations. Verified Identity Pass shut down on Monday with a notice on its website that says the company “has been unable to negotiate an agreement with its senior creditor to continue operations.”
Clear rose out of the chaos after the 9/11 attacks, when tightened security led to massive lines at airport checkpoints. Frequent fliers, fearing that three hour waits in security would become the new normal, asked for a program that would allow them speedier processing in exchange for background checks and biometric proof of their identity.
Although it is unclear what ultimately brought down Clear, many observers say it never really succeeded in its original mission because the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) insisted that registered travelers still be subject to the same security procedures as other fliers, including removing shoes and walking through detectors. Airline industry analyst Robert Mann told The Washington Post that this lack of a distinct advantage for subscribers hurt Clear and its competitors.
“There was a lot of attempt in the beginning to make it a real security product, but what it ended up being was an amenity,” Mann said.
The 260,000 frequent fliers who paid $200 a year to bypass the crowded security lines at 21 airports will not receive refunds, but many are far more worried about the personal data they submitted to the private company that no longer exists.
Patrick Davis of UnBound Edition wrote, “It’s an identity thief’s Nirvana. Forget my cash; may I have my fingerprints back, please? My iris scan?”
Verified Identity Pass says that they will continue to secure the personal data it holds and promises to “take appropriate steps” to delete it. The company’s founder, Steven Brill, left the company in March and has shrugged off any responsibility for its failure and for the sensitive data it holds. The acting CEO, Jim Moroney said in a conference call with TSA that it was in the process of deleting the data.
Clear card holders will just have to take Moroney's word for it.
The TSA has had no comment on Clear’s failure or on the data left behind on the company’s servers, except to describe the Clear program as a “market-driven, private-sector venture.” In other words, it's not our problem.
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