http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/07/30/does-bush-admin-see-union-membership-as-sign-of-terrorism/by Mike Hall, Jul 30, 2007
If a passenger flying from Europe to the United States is a member of a union, is gay or a Buddhist, will knowing that information help Homeland Security fight terrorism? The Bush administration thinks so. Starting in August, airlines flying from Europe to the United States will be required to provide sensitive personal passenger data about a person’s race, sexual orientation, health, religion and more if it’s in the airline reservation system.
The Washington Post reported last week that under a new agreement, approved by the European Union (EU) Parliament and signed by the United States, background information on travelers includes:
“racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership” and data about an individual’s health, traveling partners and sexual orientation.
The information will be retained for 15 years by the Department of Homeland Security and can be shared with other government agencies and nations. Airlines do not routinely keep such information in their systems, and the Post reports the personal details could end up in a passenger’s file because of requests for special services or routine questioning by airlines or travel agents about emergency contacts, traveling companions, next of kin and lodging. The Post adds:
Even a request for a king-size bed at a hotel could be noted in the database.
The agreement, which expands on a previous program, has privacy and civil libertarians on both sides of the Atlantic alarmed. When European officials balked at the breadth of the program earlier this summer, the Post reported the Bush administration threatened to turn back flights from Europe if the deal was not approved.
FULL story at link.