New Air Passenger Data Deal Approved By Europeans

WASHINGTON -- Two years after the formal expiration of a controversial Bush-era pact requiring air passenger data be handed over to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a deeply divided European Parliament approved a new agreement Thursday with tighter protections but just as many concerns over privacy.

In a vote of 409 in favor, 226 opposed and 33 abstentions, the European Union's governing body approved the Passenger Name Record agreement with the United States. Many who voted against the PNR pact contend that the new rules, like the ones they replace, violate civil liberties and privacy protections.

The latest agreement replaces a 2007 pact, which was reworked by Obama administration officials and their European counterparts to address lingering concerns about privacy and data protection more than a decade after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Once the agreement goes into effect next week, it will stay in force for seven years.

The agreement applies to the 22 million Americans, Europeans and others who cross the Atlantic annually and account for more than $72 billion in trade a year. All passengers are required to provide information about themselves when they book their flights. The air carriers share that PNR data -- which includes such sensitive information as credit card numbers and requests for meals with religious restrictions -- with government officials looking for transnational criminals and would-be terrorists.

Under the new rules, the Department of Homeland Security will keep the information in an active database for up to five years, although it will be "depersonalized" by removing passenger names after six months. For another five years, the information can still be maintained but under stricter access rules.

The original PNR agreement was adopted after a plot to blow up transatlantic airliners using liquid bombs was foiled in 2006.

Congress, in responding to the 9/11 attacks, mandated that air carriers provide PNR data on every flight coming into the U.S. The records have 19 data points, including itinerary, date of birth, payment method, contact information, seat assignment and traveling companions. The Department of Homeland Security runs the records through terrorist watch lists and other databases to help identify known threats early and spot others who adopt suspicious behaviors.

Officials say PNR data has aided many high-profile terrorism investigations, including those involving David Headley, who pleaded guilty to planning the Mumbai terrorist attack; Faisal Shazad, the would-be Times Square bomber; and Najibullah Zazi, who admitted to a plot to bomb New York City subways. PNRs also have been used in nearly every human-smuggling case involving air travel.

Janet Napolitano, the secretary of homeland security, said in a statement that the new agreement "demonstrates how the United States and the European Union continue to take vital steps to fight terrorism and transnational threats, while protecting privacy and civil rights. Addressing the shared security threats we face requires strong international partnerships, and this agreement is a testament to the long tradition of European and American cooperation."

Cecilia Malmström, the European Union's home affairs commissioner, also welcomed the agreement, which applies to 27 EU countries as well as the United States. She called it "a substantial improvement" on the 2007 version and said that "it provides stronger protection of EU citizens' right to privacy and more legal certainty for air carriers." Malmström added, "At the same time, it fully meets the security needs of the United States of America and the EU."

But many in Europe view the deal as an unwelcome continuation of President George W. Bush's policies. They link the air travel security measures with the Iraq war and the detainee prison at Guantanamo Bay, which remains open despite President Barack Obama's promise to close it.

Birti Sippel, a German member of the European Parliament, said the agreement "places all citizens under general suspicion and hands them over to the justice system of the United States, instead of defending our values."

Details of the new agreement can be found here.

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Comments

[Wake Up Call]

01:00 AM on 04/26/2012

They're going to keep your credit card number on file. Like those have never been lost or stolen before from corporation files. I suggest you pay cash for your tickets.

[Sense Hofstede]

11:55 AM on 04/21/2012

What the European Commission isn't telling, is that the data obtained via the PNR agreement can be used for many purposes. Also, the American officials have direct access to the European systems and have misused their capabilities in the past: tens of thousands of times they accessed information of European subjects, not always to prevent organised crime or terrorism.

[pdmlynek]

01:30 AM on 04/23/2012

I think that it is just a matter of time that people will get complacent with having to turn over data, thus allowing the government to access pretty much anything that they feel like accessing for whatever reason. Pitty.

[Rich Cash]

01:59 AM on 04/20/2012

I've always been amazed at the outrage against Homeland Security and especially the TSA. So what if you have to show up at the airport an hour or two before you would have prior to 9/11. So what if you have to submit to personal inspections and inspections of your carry-on luggage? I have a simple solution for anyone who objects so strenuously to a "violation of their rights": Let's form two groups of passengers, those who voluntarily submit to the required inspections and those who don't. Those who don't will be allowed to board an aircraft whose passengers, air-crew, and aircraft have not been inspected, and whose luggage (both carry-on and checked) has not been inspected. That aircraft will be allowed to take off, but will be trailed by armed F-15, F-16, or F/A-18's that will be tasked with destroying said aircraft should any untoward occurances happen. Which aircraft would you rather be on?

[pdmlynek]

01:28 AM on 04/23/2012

I have no problem in safety, but showing up an hour or two earlier to an airport for each flight that a person takes is an incredible drain on our collective society. It costs tens of billions of dollars. These overbearing rules also make people drive more, thus increasing the chance of death (flying is safer than driving).

Are these overbearing rules making us safer? Or are they just making us FEEL safer?

[Rich Cash]

02:11 AM on 04/23/2012

Showing up an hour or two earlier costs tens of billions of dollars? Really? You're going to have to provide some proof for that statement. Simply stating it doesn't make it so. Anyone who would knowingly and voluntarily risk an increased chance of death by driving instead of flying in order to avoid the security rules at airports is simply too stupid to be worth consideration anyway....Duhhh

[Wake Up Call]

12:59 AM on 04/26/2012

You would have made a fine German in 1939.

[efffox]

05:52 PM on 04/19/2012

Thank you President Obama and his administration for keeping the country safe!!!! I can sleep better at night knowing that President Obama is there to answer that "3 a.m. phonecall"!!! What a nice CHANGE!!!