| Sauce. Goose. Gander. |
The data, including names, telephone numbers, credit card information and travel itinerary, would be sent to EU member states so they could assess passenger risk for counterterrorism purposes, according to a draft copy obtained by The Washington Post. The European Commission proposal would allow the data to be kept for 13 years or longer if used in criminal investigations and intelligence operations. It would cover all passengers flying into and out of Europe, not just Americans.
| Now let's see who squawks about this. I'm waiting for the ACLU and other Leftie types to explain why it's perfectly okay for the EU to have this data but not our homeland security people. |
Under the proposal by Franco Frattini, European commissioner for freedom, security and justice, airlines or computerized reservation systems would send at least 19 pieces of data on each passenger to data-analysis units set up by each state. The data fields also would include e-mail addresses, names of accompanying passengers and open ones for such special requests as meals or medical service.
Under the proposal, no personal data that could reveal race, ethnicity, political opinions, religion, trade union membership or health or sex-life information could be transmitted. Any such data that was shared would have to be deleted immediately by the data-analyzing units, the proposal says.
| That takes care of most of the useful information. |
The move is part of an effort to combat terrorism by sharing information globally, and it is fueling concerns of loss of privacy and control over personal data. "It almost becomes an arms race with one country adopting a data-gathering system without reflecting on whether or not the system is required," said Allison Knight, staff counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
| And why should we need the data, Allison, when those pesky terrorists haven't tried anything on a North Atlantic flight this past month ... |
The U.S. is "definitely open to the idea," Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keehner said. "It would be fair of the Europeans to ask the same information of us that we're asking of them. We are open to finding ways to make our respective homelands secure."
The U.S.-E.U. pact was opposed by civil libertarians and liberal politicians, many of whom have said they do not favor an E.U. equivalent. But some have suggested retaliating with a mirror policy. Sophie in 't Veld, a member of Parliament from the Netherlands, said Frattini's proposal would "undermine the credibility" of the E.U., which criticized the E.U.-U.S. pact. "We still do not have sufficient evidence of how effective the use of these data are in the fight against terrorists," she said.
| You wouldn't understand, Sophie, but the security experts don't want to detail how they use the information in a public forum, so as not to compromise their methods. |
James Harrison, a Sacramento attorney and director of the Identity Project, a privacy organization, said that the prospect of analyzing the data to create risk assessments is "alarming." "Congress forbids the U.S. from conducting algorithms on passenger data domestically," he said, referring to a ban on testing algorithms assigning risk to passengers not on government watch lists. "That is exactly what they are talking about here."
| So perhaps Congress should revisit the ban. |
But, in 't Veld said, "Even if there were 27 excellent data protection schemes, if you are an American citizen, and travel around Europe for a month, who will you turn to? Ask yourself: How good is your Hungarian?"
| All I need to do is find my consulate ... |
Douglas Lavin, regional vice president North America for the International Air Transport Association, called the European proposal "a positive step" in terms of harmonizing data-sharing policies, but said he is concerned about an international patchwork dealing with passenger data. "We don't want to be faced with conflicting laws in this area," he said.