US 'licence to snoop' on British air travellers

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Dave Noble

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Although this applies to EU rather than Oz, will Poodle Howard eagerly give over this information from Australians

UK's The Daily Telegraph said:
Britons flying to America 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 American authorities. Providing an email address to an airline could also lead to scrutiny of other messages sent or received on that account.
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Full story at Telegraph | News | US 'licence to snoop' on British air travellers


Dave
 
Here's what will happen.

Poodle Howard will immediately announce the same measures here, then "me too" Labor will announce it will DOUBLE check everyone! :)

Really, why wouldn't a terrorist just open a hotmail account and use that for the itinerary receipt?

Gee, do you get the feeling that these measures are more for show than for reality? It's like during WW2 when people in the UK were asked for 'scrap metal' to help build planes for the RAF. Most of it was dumped as it was unusable, but it was the theory rather than the practise. ;)
 
Goebbels, Biera, McCarthy......

Howard?????


Jeez I thought we were fighting for "freedom"?

Gazza
 
Dave Noble said:
Although this applies to EU rather than Oz, will Poodle Howard eagerly give over this information from Australians

Full story at Telegraph | News | US 'licence to snoop' on British air travellers

Dave
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Old news. The EU has been handing over PNR data for a few years now. All they've done is reworked the original 'temporary' agreement and made it more long term. As for the provision of the extra info (CC and the like), well, that's just to be expected from the LOFTAP.

As for Oz, I'd wager that PNR data is already being handed over. After all, Australian customs can request it from incoming carriers, I'd see no reason why we wouldn't be providing it to the US on request. Of course, such a request would a 'blanket' one with a termination clause along the lines of "...until it is deemed as to be no longer required. :rolleyes:

From what I've read, the Canadian model (selected data that is 'pushed' to Immigration, rather than the US approach of slurping up the database) is the best compromise between secutiry and privacy. Hopefully a multi-lateral treaty will be reached in the next few years between the various factions to sort out this mess. Not that I'm holding my breath.

mt
 
There is a whole set of Advance Passenger Information that is supposed to be sent to the US for all arriving passengers. I don't think this actually includes the PNR but does have a fair bit of information to identify the passenger.
 
oz_mark said:
There is a whole set of Advance Passenger Information that is supposed to be sent to the US for all arriving passengers. I don't think this actually includes the PNR but does have a fair bit of information to identify the passenger.
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IIRC, API is similar to what is in your passport today (Visa info, country of origin etc). I believe that the biometric information that is stored in the new passports will also be provided in future (if not already). I don't have a problem with API since it is what is already provided to customs when I show them my passport. If they are smart and then use that information prior my arrival to speed up immigration processing, then I'd be most appreciative.

However, the PNR is another story. From my PoV, immigration officials should not be concerned with my CC#, FF#, seating, food preferences and the like.
<tinfoil hat on>
The idea that they may conduct a credit check using the PNR information is laughable. Anyone serious about 'doing bad things' (TM) will have made very sure that the credit card will be clean. The last thing I need after a 14hr in Y is to have some immigration official enquire about my spending patterns. Having AMEX ring me about it is bad enough :).
<tinfoil hat off>

When O when will government learn that more information is not necessarily better?

mt
 
More info about Australians flying to the US is in today's Australian:

Airlines give details of Aussies to the US | Aviation | The Australian

EVERY Australian flying to the US has their personal details provided to the US Government under a secretive deal with private airlines.
The details passed on may include names, addresses and telephone numbers, as well as email addresses and even dietary requirements that can be used as evidence of a person's religion.

A spokeswoman for the Customs Service said the provision of the information was a mandatory requirement imposed by the US Department of Homeland Security.

A spokeswoman for Qantas said the company had provided the US with such information since June 2004. Qantas's conditions of carriage state the airline does compile personal information, including health details, and may disclose this to foreign governments for security purposes.
Click to expand...
 
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oz_mark said:
Secretive Deal??? More like the airlines are supplying the information in compliance with US Law.
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Last I checked though, Qantas is not a US company and the rules regarding airlines travelling internationally are treaty based

Dave
 
Dave Noble said:
Last I checked though, Qantas is not a US company and the rules regarding airlines travelling internationally are treaty based
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What options do Qantas have though? It would not be in QF's interest to have all these passengers just turned around on arrival.

I have to confess I don't really have a grasp of the treatiws, and wonder how general they are.

Is there some treaty that defines what data needs to be sent. Is there some treaty that says bottles of shampoo are not allowed on planes?
 
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