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As the negotiations of the PNR (Passenger Name Records) issue continue between the US Government and the European Parliament, during his visit to Brussels on 14 May, US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff asked for more relaxed restrictions on the personal data transfer from the airline companies.
The interim agreement on PNR between EU and US expires in July 2007 and unless a common agreement is reached by then, airlines are in a difficult position, facing either being sued in Europe for providing these data in the US or in the US for not sharing the information.
Chertoff addressed the Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs asking for looser privacy safeguard conditions in the transfer of the personal data of passengers flying from Europe to US. The European Parliament has resisted until now, being concerned on personal data protection issues.
One of the restrictions Chertoff referred to in asking for looser conditions was the use of the data limiting their dissemination to institutions that have strict privacy safeguards standards as in the EU.
Chertoff considers that in order to stop terrorism, the data have to be shared among all US government agencies. He also stated the U.S. wanted to hold the data for 40 years but he also said this was negotiable.
While the European Commissioner for justice and home affairs Franco Frattini said he was confident the EU and the US could reach an agreement on how to handle personal information about European citizens flying to America, there were voices that asked uncomfortable questions to Chertoff.
MEP Sophie in 't Veld, the rapporteur responsible for PNR policy asked if PNR were used for purposes other than counter-terrorism, such as control of infectious diseases, or private purposes of certain companies such as insurance companies. The answer was that the use of PNR by private companies was illegal and those infringing the law would be brought to justice. But PNR data are first of all commercial records created and used for commercial purposes by travel companies and Chertoff 's answer would imply that these companies are forbidden to use these data and that would make impossible for them to operate. US has generally more lax laws on privacy and data protection and there is no law restricting them from passing part or all of those data to a third party, or using the data for other purposes than those for which the data had been collected.
Chertoff also claimed that "PNR data is protected under the U.S. Privacy Act and the Freedom of Information Act, among other laws, as well as the robust oversight provided through ... American courts." However, Privacy Act applies only to U.S. persons, not EU citizens and residents.
Sophie in 't Veld also asked Chertoff if he was really interested in a compromise "instead imposing unilaterally US standards and wishes" but she did not get a clear answer.
"It is never justified to give unlimited and uncontrolled powers to any government," said in 't Veld.
US asks Europe to relax privacy rules for new airline deal (15.05.2007)
http://www.out-law.com//default.aspx?page=8051
U.S., EU Hopeful on Airline Data Privacy Pact (14.05.2007)
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,131800-c,privacy/article.html/
Did Chertoff lie to the European Parliament? (15.05.2007)
http://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/001259.html
Does the Chicago Convention authorize government demands for PNR's? No.
(18.05.2007)
http://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/001263.html
Video of the PNR hearing (14.05.2007)
http://media.ffii.org/Chertoff070514_PNR_hearing/