E.U. Preps for Fight over Passenger Data 51
narramissic writes "Following last week's signing of a new temporary agreement to pass over airline passenger data to American authorities last week, European Union parliamentarians are gearing up for a fight over data privacy. Sylvia Kaufmann, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), commented that 'The fact that the CIA, an agency whose activities, torturing and kidnapping, this house is investigating in a special committee, will have access to passenger data is the real scandal, especially when one considers that the right of redress held by U.S. citizens is not extended to E.U. citizens.'"
I just read something... (Score:5, Interesting)
Theres an article currently on the BBC about possibly tagging passengers [bbc.co.uk] during flights and around the airport.
Come in number 5, your time is up.
Re:nothing like examining something on its merits (Score:5, Interesting)
As a nerd/geek, let me tell you that I object to having my digital, or real life rights trampled on so that I can be legally tortured. Heard of Maher Arar? If not, you may want to look that name up and see what the American government did to him based on faulty intelligence shared with them after he was pulled off a plane in New York.
EU Law: Right to Privacy, Data Retention Laws (Score:3, Interesting)
Franco Frattini, the European Commissioner in charge of justice issues, criticized Parliamentarians for being anti-American. "It's terrorism that is the problem, not the United States of America," he said.
The 9/11 terrorists used stolen passports. Passenger data, credit card reports as well as any secret no-fly lists would have been useless in stopping the terrorist attacks.
Breaking EU privacy laws and giving EU passenger data, credit card histories, Credit Card numbers and credit histories to CIA against the wishes of passengers and EU parliamentarians shows extreme contempt for the EU law and the European court's decision, our legal system and values.
If the EU laws are not respected and enforced by our own government, and respected by the companies who should abide by them, then what good are they?
Why should American law supercede EU law? We are not a part of United States. If USA fines European airlines, EU can fine American airlines double the amount.
Why should CIA's excuses for right-to-spy on EU citizens supercede our right to privacy that is stipulated in EU law?
Why is an EU commissioner advocating for the rights of CIA spies at the cost of EU citizens rights?