Europe seeks U.S. traveler data
WASHINGTON - American travelers’ personal data would for the first time be exported to all European Union states by airline carriers flying to Europe under a proposal to be announced this week.
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.
Airlines already share data with U.S. authorities on passengers entering the United States. A handful of countries, including Canada and Australia, have similar laws. The European proposal was apparently modeled after an agreement signed in July between the United States and Europe dealing with passenger data from European flights entering and leaving the United States.
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.
The proposal must be approved by all 27 EU states to become a Europe-wide law, though individual states could introduce their own programs. It would affect about 30 million people who fly from North America to Europe each year.
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.
Frattini has made clear that he thinks such a policy would be beneficial to combating terrorism in light of attacks in Madrid and London.
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.”