NEW YORK — A civil rights group sued the federal government Thursday to try to force it to turn over information about airport “behavior detection” programs designed to spot passengers who are potential threats, saying they lead to discrimination.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, asking a judge to force the Transportation Security Administration to divulge how it runs the programs and the results achieved since it began in 2003.
Jennifer Queliz, a spokeswoman for government lawyers, said there was no immediate comment on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit said more information needs to be known about the Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques program, also known as SPOT, as its techniques are criticized by government auditors, members of Congress and experts. It said the government has spent more than $1 billion on that program since 2007.