Australia's Federal Privacy commissioner is investigating
the US Customs and Border Protection Agency's online access to data
of passengers on Australian airlines.
Commissioner Malcolm Crompton is yet to make a ruling on the data
transfers but views it as "sufficiently serious to warrant
investigation".
The
investigation follows similar moves overseas after the US data
transfers by European airlines outraged European Union privacy
advocates.
Crompton
said it is not clear how much personal information flows from
Australian airlines to US authorities or the level of privacy
protection it receives.
This
includes clarification on the level of privacy protection used for
sensitive information provided by the Department of
Immigration.
"It is
important to protect the safety and privacy of people who are
flying, as well as the community generally. This means striking a
balance regarding information flows about airline passengers and
the uses of that information," Crompton said.
Unisys
spokesperson Tony Roulston said the company's Advanced Passenger
Information System database transfers passenger data to the
authorities at an aircraft's destination but he argues that
forwarding the passenger manifest is nothing new.
"What has
been happening, and it is just a natural part of air travel, is
that as passengers are being boarded onto a plane, you create a
passenger manifest," Roulston said.
In the UK
a spokesman for the office of the information commissioner, the
data privacy watchdog, said that it was in discussions with the
European Commission over how to clarify US data protection
safeguards.
A
coalition of EU privacy groups is campaigning against an agreement
in March with the US Customs and Border Protection Agency.
Under the
agreement, the EU agreed to provide the agency with online access
to data from all Europe-based carriers that fly to, from or through
the US.
"There are
no safeguards or restrictions on these data transfers," said
Maurice Wessling, president of the European Digital Rights (EDRI)
privacy coalition which represents 10 privacy and civil rights
groups from seven EU countries.