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Since September 11, 2001, the United States government has increasingly used watch lists as a counterterrorism tool in a variety of contexts. In addition to the familiar “no fly” list used for screening airline passengers, watch lists have been used in screening for employment, contracts, government benefits, and even consumer transactions like mortgages. Misidentification or unwarranted placement of individuals’ names on watch lists can lead to consequences ranging from minor inconvenience or delay, to invasions of privacy, to more serious damage to reputation, employability, the right to travel or other constitutionally protected freedoms.

Watch lists should only be used in situations where decisions must be made quickly and grave consequences would follow from failure to screen out a listed person. In those instances, government agencies must establish measures to promote the accuracy of the list at the “front end,” thus improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the lists and providing greater fairness to individuals. Agencies must also be required to establish a system for redress at the “back end” that will provide a meaningful and fundamentally fair opportunity for individuals to challenge their inclusion on a watch list. Individuals should be able to challenge their inclusion because of mistaken identify or because the government lacks an adequate justification for including them. The system should be efficient and guarantee removal and clearance for the individual.

Watch lists must be employed accurately and fairly, both to provide effective security tools and to avoid undercutting the very values they are designed to protect.