The European Parliament today passed a resolution asking the European Commission to scrutinize demands by the United States for airline passenger data. The resolution specifically asks EC officials to ensure there will be no discrimination against non-U.S. passengers, and that "passengers must be notified upon purchase of their ticket and give their informed consent to the transfer of personal data to the U.S." Furthermore, Parliament requested the formation of an appeals process to handle any passenger complaints. "If these conditions are not met, the Commission should refuse to allow airlines to transfer personal passenger data," the resolution stated.
According to Parliament, the 39 data fields from passenger name records requested by the United States "seem excessive and out of proportion." The resolution therefore states that "it is currently not possible to consider the data protection provided by the U.S. authorities to be adequate."
Today's resolution follows an earlier Parliament report that recommended a ban on air passenger data transfer to the United States unless U.S. officials loosen requirements
(BTN, Oct. 6). The growing controversy highlights the conflict between the United States' efforts to collect data in order to spot terrorists and the European Union's strict data privacy laws.