European Concerns about Misuse of U.S. Security Data
European officials are concerned that the United States is misusing traveller information that was originally intended to combat terrorism. Airlines have been required to submit the names of passengers travelling to the United States since the September 11th terrorist attacks. Those names are checked against government watch lists, aiding law enforcement agencies in criminal investigations.
Concerns about the use of passenger data grew after executives from BAE Systems PLC and UBS AG were detained by federal investigators for alleged corporate crimes. Human-rights watchdog The Council of Europe argues that the agreement to share passenger data violated several human-rights conventions. U.S. officials claim that investigators were alerted when people wanted for questioning entered the country before the passenger data sharing agreement began in 2004.
Investigators are able to 'flag' people wanted for questioning through the Customs and Border Protection agency. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said that passenger data helped authorities stop a child-smuggling ring.
