By Jason Pancake
The next time you fly from Europe, you might be surprised by how much the government will be able to learn about you. In a deal, signed July 26 by the United States and approved in Europe, all airlines flying from Europe to the United States can be required to provide personal data of passengers to U.S. authorities if it exists in their reservation systems. Even if you are a US citizen!The Washington Post reports that “according to the deal, the information that can be used in such exceptional circumstances 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 United States claims that personal data can only be used "where the life of a data subject or of others could be imperiled or seriously impaired," such as in tracking a terrorist plot.
However, whether this restraint will actually be followed is another matter. Especially with the track record of the current Bush administration and of an Attorney General who “does not recall” a number of events and who went as far as to try to get a hospitalized and drugged John Ashcroft to sign off on his domestic eavesdropping program. Yes, according to testimony by a Justice Department official, Alberto Gonzales and Bush’s Chief of Staff Andrew Card actually visited the bedside of Ashcroft, who was recovering from gall bladder surgery and who was in pain and under sedation, to seek his signature on the reauthorization.Anything you put down when buying an airplane ticket and making travel plans may reveal a lot more information about you than you think. The Washington Post article, says that “airlines do not usually gather [personal] data, but officials say it could wind up in passenger files as a result of requests for special services such as wheelchairs, or through routine questioning by airline personnel and travel agents about contacts, lodging, next of kin and traveling companions. Even a request for a king-size bed at a hotel could be noted in the database.”
This is a tricky issue because I support precautions that would make flying safer and keep me from catching tuberculosis or the plague from the person sneezing in the seat next to me, but sometimes what people don’t realize how abuse of this type of program, or even a simple clerical error, can screw up your life. In the best-case scenario you might miss your flight and be inconvenienced, but in the worst-case scenario, you might end up in a secret prison somewhere for a few years. I wish I could be kidding, but it has happened!
It is easy to dismiss this kind of profiling when you don’t expect it to happen to you, but what if you are of Middle Eastern descent? Or speak with a funny accent? Or share the name with the wrong person?
Next time: Catch my 2.5 cents on the 2008 Presidential hopefuls as we approach only a half a year to go until the California Primary elections.
On a completely unrelated note for your viewing pleasure here is the video for Final Countdown - by rock(?) group Europe:
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