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The number of people on the U.S. terrorism database – which can place people on a no-fly list – has doubled within a few years, according to The Associated Press. Reportedly, there were 1.1 million individuals in the database at the end of 2013, according to the National Counterterrorism Center. In 2010, there were 550,000 names in the database.

Few submissions are not accepted
In an AP report earlier this year, the news agency stated around 99 percent of the names submitted to the government for the U.S. terrorism database are accepted, which has lead to criticism regarding the ease with which names can be added to the list. 

The database holds all the names of known terrorists, people suspected of having ties to terrorists and sometimes people who are related to terrorists or are associates of people who are suspected terrorists. The National Counterterrorism Center told the AP that 25,000 U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents are in the database currently.

Government officials became more diligent and aggressive in adding names to the terrorism database after a failed attempt to blow up a plane over the city of Detroit on Christmas in 2009. Reportedly the terror operative involved in this instance was listed on the terrorism database. However, he was not barred from flying on a U.S. airplane. Since this event, the government has become more lenient in adding names to the database, according to the AP. In fact, the government needs no evidence of a person's involvement in terrorism efforts or links to suspected terrorists to be included in the database.

Increasing submission rates 
Since 2009, the rate of name submissions has increased dramatically over the years. According to the AP:

  • In 2009, 227,932 names were submitted to the database
  • In 2010, submissions rose to 250,847 
  • In 2012, the number of names increased to 336,712
  • In 2013, 468,749 names were submitted to the database