 |
|
| CURRENT SECTION :: News | UK's most visited IT Contractor Site - 250k unique visitors March 2008 |
|
 |
Fresh proposals to tighten up homeland security in the United States dictate all new international visitors must fill in an online from 48 hours before they travel. As no visa is needed for short-stay tourists from Britain, authorities are calling for extra time to check details currently provided upon arrival on paper form or sent electronically by airlines. Disclosures obtained by The Times claim that the online form is expected to ask whether the visitor has a communicable disease or has ever taken part in ‘genocide, espionage, sabotage or terrorist activity.’ Visa waiver applicants are also asked whether they are drug abusers, have a physical or mental disorder or whether they have been arrested for an offence involving moral turpitude. MEPs in Brussels were told on Monday that details of the system are yet to be agreed by Congress, in an address from Michael Chertoff, the US Homeland Security Secretary. Chertoff also pushed to renew a controversial deal that would allow US authorities to continue sharing data on European citizens travelling on US bound flights. Under the current agreement, the US Customs and Border Protection agency can disclose 36 items of passenger data to other US law enforcement agencies probing terrorist activities. “We are collecting data because it has proven time and time again to keep dangerous people out of the country," Chertoff told the EU Civil Liberties committee. He wants to renew the current PNR exchange for July, to continue the electronic transfer of passenger details, like names, addresses, seat numbers and credit card details, to US authorities within 15 minutes of a flight’s departure for the US. But the committee wants assurances that any continuing EU-US exchange of passenger name records (PNRs) will guarantee better respect for the continent’s data laws and its citizens’ privacy. “Life is the liberty on which all others depend," Chertoff said, responding to the concerns. He stressed that had such a system of data-sharing passenger details been in place for the 9/11 terror attacks on the US, 11 out of the 19 hijackers could have been identified "at minimal cost to civil liberties." Reminding MEPs that the US and Europe had very different legal traditions, Chertoff said that each side should respect the other's privacy laws. "Collection of PNR is allowed through the Chicago Convention," he said, "and we could implement it unilaterally. But we prefer to work together with the EU to find an agreeable solution." May 16, 2007 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
|
|
   |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All content © Contractor UK Limited | http://www.contractoruk.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1[Register for News Letter] | [Privacy Statement] | [Terms of Use] | [Top of Page] |