The Canadian Privacy Law Blog: Developments in privacy law and writings of a Canadian privacy lawyer, containing information related to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (aka PIPEDA) and other Canadian and international laws.

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The author of this blog, David T.S. Fraser, is a Canadian privacy lawyer who practices with the firm of McInnes Cooper. He is the author of the Physicians' Privacy Manual. He has a national and international practice advising corporations and individuals on matters related to Canadian privacy laws.

For full contact information and a brief bio, please see David's profile.

Please note that I am only able to provide legal advice to clients. I am not able to provide free legal advice. Any unsolicited information sent to David Fraser cannot be considered to be solicitor-client privileged.

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The views expressed herein are solely the author's and should not be attributed to his employer or clients. Any postings on legal issues are provided as a public service, and do not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to. Nothing herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.

This web site is presented for informational purposes only. These materials do not constitute legal advice and do not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and David T.S. Fraser. If you are seeking specific advice related to Canadian privacy law or PIPEDA, contact the author, David T.S. Fraser.

Monday, July 09, 2007

EU US deal extends American Privacy Act to European passengers

Apparently European and American authorities have reached a deal on the transmission of airline passenger information. The deal involves extending US Privacy Act protection to European passengers' data:

U.S. Privacy Act to cover EU citizens - Yahoo! News
....Differences over how to balance security needs with concerns over passengers' privacy led to protracted negotiations after a 2004 deal on data sharing was voided by an EU court last year for technical reasons.
Under the new deal, the number of pieces of information transferred to U.S. authorities will be reduced from 34 to 19 — although critics say this is only because some categories of data will be merged.
Data can be kept for a maximum of 15 years. But after the first seven years, data will become "dormant" and can only be accessed on a case-by-case basis under strict rules.
Currently, a maximum of 34 pieces of recorded data — such as passenger names, addresses, seat numbers and credit card and travel details — are transferred to U.S. authorities within 15 minutes of a flight's departure for the United States under Washington's anti-terror screening rules.
The current agreement allows the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency to disclose so-called Passenger Name Records to other U.S. law enforcement agencies for use in anti-terror investigations if those agencies have data protection standards comparable to the EU's legal demands.
EU governments are to give a final, formal endorsement to the deal later this months after they get the green light from the national parliaments.

Labels: privacy