EU says no to releasing info to TSA

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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