Britons and other Europeans who fly to the US could have their credit-card transactions as well as e-mail messages inspected by US officials, a British newspaper reported yesterday.
Under a US-EU deal struck in October, the Daily Telegraph said passengers face having other transactions on their credit cards inspected by US authorities if they use the card to reserve flights.
Under the headline "license to snoop" on flying Britons, the daily added that passengers who provide an e-mail address to an airline could see other messages sent or received on that account studied by the US government.
The paper said the details were revealed in "undertakings" given by the US Department of Homeland Security to the EU and published by Britain's Department for Transport following a Freedom of Information request.
A department spokesman told the Telegraph: "Every airline is obliged to conform with these rules if they wish to continue flying. As part of the terms of carriage, it is made clear to passengers what these requirements are."
"The US government has given undertakings on how this data will be used and who will see it," he said.
However, Shami Chakrabarti, the director of the human-rights group Liberty, was quoted as telling the newspaper she was horrified at the extent of the information made available.
"It is making the act of buying a ticket a gateway to a host of personal e-mail and financial information. While there are safeguards, it appears you would have to go to a US court to assert your rights," Chakrabarti said.
With the security clampdown that followed the Sept. 11 attacks on the US, Washington demanded that airlines yield full details about passengers before allowing them to land, the newspaper said.
However, EU governments threatened to impose heavy fines on the airlines for breaches of European data protection legislation.
In October, the EU agreed to remove the "bureaucratic hurdles" preventing airlines handing over such information after the US authorities threatened to bar European carriers. Washington meanwhile promised to "encourage" US airlines to make similar information available to EU governments rather than force them to do so, the newspaper said.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured when a man plowed his car into pedestrians exercising around a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday night. Footage showing bodies lying on the pavement appeared on social media in the hours after the crash, but had vanished by early Tuesday morning, and local police reported only “injuries.” It took officials nearly 24 hours to reveal that dozens had died — in one of the country’s deadliest incidents in years. China heavily monitors social media platforms, where it is common for words and topics deemed
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
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