US 'license to snoop' on British air travelers

Britons flying to the US could have their credit card and email accounts inspected by the United States authorities following a deal struck by Brussels and Washington. By using a credit card to book a flight, passengers face having other transactions on the card inspected by the US authorities. Providing an email address to an airline could also lead to scrutiny of other messages sent or received on that account. The extent of the demands were disclosed in "undertakings" given by the US Department of Homeland Security to the European Union and published by the Department for Transport after a Freedom of Information request. About four million Britons travel to the US each year and the released document shows that the US has demanded access to far more data than previously realized. Not only will such material be available when combating terrorism but the US has asserted the right to the same information when dealing with other serious crimes. Shami Chakrabarti, the director of the human rights group Liberty, expressed horror at the extent of the information made available. "It is a complete handover of the rights of people traveling to the United States," she said. As the US tightened security after the Sept. 11 attacks, they demanded that airlines provide comprehensive information about passengers before allowing them to land. But this triggered a dispute that came to a head last year in a Catch 22 situation. On the one hand they were told they must provide the information, yet on the other they were threatened with heavy fines by EU governments for breaching European data protection legislation. In October, Brussels agreed to sweep away the "bureaucratic hurdles" preventing airlines from handing over this material after European carriers were threatened with exclusion from the US. The newly-released document sets out the rules underpinning that deal. As a result the US is entitled to 34 separate pieces of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data–all of which must be provided by airlines from their computers. Much of it is routine but some elements will prove more contentious, such as a passenger's email address, whether they have a previous history of not turning up for flights and any religious dietary requirements. While insisting that "additional information" would only be sought from lawful channels, the US made clear that it would use PNR data as a trigger for further inquiries. "It is pretty horrendous, particularly when you couple it with our one-sided extradition arrangements with the US," said Miss Chakrabarti. "It is making the act of buying a ticket a gateway to a host of personal email and financial information. While there are safeguards, it appears you would have to go to a US court to assert your rights." Chris Grayling, the shadow transport secretary, said: "Our government and the EU have handed over very substantial powers to gain access to private information belonging to British citizens." A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "Every airline is obliged to conform with these rules if they wish to continue flying. As part of the terms of carriage, it is made clear to passengers what these requirements are. "The US government has given undertakings on how this data will be used and who will see it."