Talk to TSA: I Want To Hear From You

What better way to start my first blog post than to let you know I am very interested in what the public has to say. My top priorities include improving TSA's counterterrorism focus through intelligence and cutting edge technology, supporting the workforce, and strengthening our relationships with stakeholders and the traveling public.

I've seen firsthand that strong counterterrorism efforts include an engaged and informed public and it’s imperative that we listen.

Because I think the public’s voice is so important, I am launching “Talk to TSA.” It works the same as “Got Feedback?” did. You go to the web page and you can leave detailed feedback for a specific airport’s Customer Support Manager. The new and improved part of this process is that I will also be regularly reviewing your input along with the comments that are made here on the blog.

I commit to you that I will utilize “Talk to TSA” to address some of the more commonly asked questions and themes. I’ll be addressing those concerns right here on the blog. So send us your ideas, suggestions, and feedback. I’m listening.

John S. Pistole

TSA Administrator

TSA Blog to Write Several Posts as Part of a DoD Live Blog Series

I've agreed to write a series of blog posts aimed at members of our armed forces over at DoD Live. Now that I think of it, maybe “aim” wasn’t the best choice of words when talking about soldiers. I’m a vet, so maybe they’ll cut me some slack.

Anyways, I’ll be writing several posts for DoD live and the first one was just posted on their “Armed With Science” blog for the Tech Tuesday series. Armed with Science highlights the importance of science and technology to military operations and celebrates those involved in cutting-edge research, development, and education.

The post talks about the various types of technology we use at our checkpoints. Future posts will address things that members of our military might have an interest in reading. As a former soldier, it gives me great pleasure to be able to write some blog posts directed at a military audience. Maybe I’ll reconnect with some old Army buddies?

Fighting Terrorism with Technology is the first post of the series. I’ll announce future posts here as they go live. Make sure to check out the other great posts at DoD Live.

Blogger Bob
TSA Blog Team

Response to "TSA to Block Controversial Opinion on the Web"

Our IT department recently sent out an internal memo about TSA's efforts to improve our information security and prevent violations to TSA's acceptable use policy for personal use of government computers. The memo made its way to members of the media and now many are asking why TSA blocks "controversial opinion?" Well, just as many other government entities and corporations, TSA uses a security technology that limits access to certain categories of websites that are known to pose an increased security risk or violate the acceptable use policy for government computers. "Controversial opinion" is one of many of those categories. This category is an IT software catch-all phrase used to describe sites that may pose a security risk or violate the acceptable use policy, such as sites that promote destructive behavior to one's self or others. After taking a closer look, TSA determined this category may contain some sites that do not violate our acceptable use policy. This category is no longer being considered for implementation. However, employees will still need to avoid those sites that do violate TSA's acceptable use policy while using government computers. TSA employees can access any websites required for purposes of performing their job functions, and if they lose access to something they need, the access can be restored by contacting TSA's Help Desk.

TSA does not block access to critical commentary about the organization. Take a look at the comments on this blog and you'll clearly see that we allow critical commentary. This isn't a case of TSA blocking controversial opinions. Our intent is not, and never has been, to limit our employees' ability to access controversial opinions.