Europe, U.S. to share data on air passengers

Europe, U.S. to share data on air passengers

By PAUL GEITNER, AP Business Writer
Last Updated 7:51 am PDT Monday, May 17, 2004

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union on Monday approved an anti-terrorism deal with Washington for sharing passenger data on flights to the United States, rejecting warnings about potential violations of privacy rights.

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"We came up with a balanced solution which the member states have supported," said EU Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein.

Not acting now would have meant "legal uncertainty and the potential withdrawal of U.S. commitments to protect the data transferred - in other words chaos for EU passengers and airlines," he said in a statement.

The data in question included credit card numbers and contact information. "Sensitive" items, such as meal requests, that could indicate a passenger's race or religion will either not be transferred or will be "filtered and deleted by U.S. authorities," Bolkestein said.

more... http://www.sacbee.com/24hour/nation/story/1373532p-8607172c.html

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