[Clips] Airlines in a Panic: Deal on Fliers' Data Is Ruled Illegal

[R.A. Hettinga]

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  Delivered-To: rah at shipwright.com
  Delivered-To: clips at philodox.com
  Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 18:21:30 -0400
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  From: "R.A. Hettinga" <rah at shipwright.com>
  Subject: [Clips] Airlines in a Panic: Deal on Fliers' Data Is Ruled Illegal
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  Sender: clips-bounces at philodox.com

  <http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB114897794980266136.html>

  The Wall Street Journal

  Deal on Fliers' Data
  Is Ruled Illegal
  Top Court's Decision
  On EU-U.S. Pact
  Has Airlines in a Panic

  By WILLIAM ECHIKSON

  May 31, 2006; Page A4

  BRUSSELS -- Europe's top court ruled illegal a deal with the U.S. for
  sharing air-passenger data to fight terrorism, forcing officials to
  scramble in order to keep planes flying across the Atlantic this fall.

  The European Commission and the U.S. agreed in 2004 that airlines would
  turn over 34 pieces of information about each passenger flying from Europe
  to the U.S. -- including name, address and credit-card details -- within 15
  minutes of departure. The agreement was controversial because of strict
  European privacy rules, and the European Parliament challenged it. But
  Washington threatened to fine airlines and even strip them of landing
  rights if they didn't comply.

  The European Court of Justice ruled yesterday that European Union privacy
  rules exclude the use of such commercial data for crime-fighting purposes.
  Data can be collected for commercial purposes, but the court said the
  commission -- the bloc's executive arm -- violated the law by handing the
  material over to law-enforcement authorities. The court allowed the data to
  keep flowing until Sept. 30 to give officials some time to negotiate a new
  deal.

  U.S. and European airlines have been complying with the agreed-upon rules.
  They fear being put in the position of violating European law if they
  submit to Washington's requirements or violating U.S. law if they don't.

  "We don't want to think about what will happen if this is not settled by
  the end of September," said David Henderson, spokesman for the Association
  of European Airlines. "It is so extreme that it could cause some very great
  disturbances to the industry," he added.

  "We anticipate that the U.S. government and European authorities will
  resolve this matter without subjecting airlines to conflicting demands,"
  said James C. May, president and chief executive of the Air Transport
  Association, a trade group representing U.S. carriers. "ATA and its members
  will continue to work closely with governmental authorities to find a
  practical solution to this issue," he said.

  European and U.S. officials said the ruling is narrow enough to allow them
  to revise the existing agreement. They said the court didn't address
  whether the type of data turned over is too extensive under EU law.
  Instead, they said the judges only decided that the way the accord was
  adopted was illegal: Instead of basing the rules on commercial law, the EU
  must rely on laws that apply to police and security cooperation.

  "It's unimaginable that the data will cease to flow and the planes will
  cease to fly," said Stewart Baker, U.S. assistant secretary for policy at
  the Department of Homeland Security, who was in Brussels for a debate about
  security cooperation. "I am confident we can find a solution."

  EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini said he would try to rework the
  agreement "under a different legal basis, but with similar content." He,
  too, said he is confident a deal can be struck before most EU officials go
  on holiday for August. But without one, he added, "we could face really
  huge problems."

  In private, an EU official cautioned that it will be hard to renegotiate a
  deal that will satisfy both the European Parliament and the U.S.
  government. Some members of the Parliament vowed to take a tough line on
  any new agreement. "Our victory in this case demonstrates the refusal...to
  buckle in the face of trans-Atlantic bullying," said Sarah Ludford, a
  Liberal Democrat from Britain.

  The EU won some concessions from the U.S. The length of time the data can
  be stored was shortened to 312 years from a proposed 50, and some
  information was deleted such as meal preference.


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  R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
  The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
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-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'