EU Lawmakers Condemn U.S. Anti-Terror Air Data Deal
Mar 18, 6:59 am ET
By Lisa Jucca
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Key EU lawmakers dealt a blow to Washington's air
security strategy Thursday by rejecting a U.S.-EU accord on handing over
passengers' personal details.
Citing civil rights concerns, the European Parliament's civil liberties
committee voted by a large majority to condemn the European Commission for
agreeing to pass on data, such as credit card numbers and phone numbers, which
Washington says it needs to spot potential terrorists.
"The agreement with the United States is not on a level that...gives enough
protection to EU citizens," said Dutch Liberal Democrat Johanna Boogerd-Quaak.
She said the draft deal, which is not reciprocal, did not treat EU and U.S.
citizens equally should they mistakenly end up on a U.S. black list.
The committee asked the Commission to change its decision or face a legal
challenge in the EU's top court, the European Court of Justice. The full
parliament will vote at the end of the month on whether it supports its
committee's view.
The parliament's opinion has no legal force, but the Commission will find it
difficult to ignore such a strong political signal from the EU's elected
assembly, officials say.
"We are looking forward to the vote in plenary and we will react at that
time," a Commission spokesman said.
BROAD CONCERNS
The U.S. screening plans have also sparked concern at home, where some members
of Congress are questioning whether it would catch potential hijackers or
simply violate the privacy of millions of travelers.
Faced with the prospect of huge fines, non-U.S. airlines have already started
transferring data to the United States.
Under the deal with the EU, airlines would be permitted to grant U.S.
authorities access to their booking records, allowing the transfer of up to 34
pieces of individual data.
The United States has promised to delete the most sensitive information, such
as those indicating race, health or religion, but will store the rest for
three and a half years.
Official EU privacy watchdogs in EU states unanimously rejected the deal in
January, saying Washington had not set up a proper system of redress for
travelers who were unjustly delayed or even arrested due to a data mismatch.
EU government officials have given the green light to the EU-U.S. aid data
deal. The Commission is itself also drafting a proposal to start using
travelers' data for aviation security.
******************************
Gov't to Soon Test Air Screening Program
Mar 17, 4:05 PM (ET)
By LESLIE MILLER
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration wants to begin testing in June of a
program that would enable travelers whose background the government already
has checked to avoid lengthy security inspections at airports, a federal
official said Wednesday.
The registered traveler program would allow people to pay a fee and submit to
government background checks. If these people are not found to be potential
threats, they would avoid being randomly selected for the follow-up screening
that some travelers face at checkpoints where carry-on bags pass through metal
detectors.
David Stone, acting chief of the Transportation Security Administration, said
the goal is to move law-abiding frequent travelers more quickly to their
planes and permit screeners to focus more on people about whom the government
has less information.
"TSA believes in this," Stone told the House Transportation and Infrastructure
subcommittee on aviation. "It's a high priority."
Stone said testing would last 90 days. Among the airports being considered are
Boston's Logan International Airport, Washington's Reagan National Airport,
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville,
Tenn., and Palm Beach International Airport in Florida.
James May, president of the Air Transport Association, said he was "surprised
but pleased" by Stone's announcement.
"We've been pushing and pushing and pushing," said May, whose organization
represents major U.S. airlines.
May testified that the government should develop the program before it puts in
place computerized passenger screening that would use personal information to
rank all air travelers based on their threat level.
But Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, said he was not
sure people would embrace the registered traveler program because of privacy
concerns.
"We are, as an organization, very much in favor of it," Mitchell said. "But
I'm not sure there are a lot of business travelers willing to pay" to turn
over all that information."
The fee for the program was not immediately known.
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