Press Advisory

ANNOUNCEMENT

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the European Digital Rights Initiative (EDRi) will host a press call at 1 pm EDT, Monday, September 22 to discuss the current debate between the United States and Europe over airline passenger profiling.

PARTICIPANTS

Marc Rotenberg, Executive Director, EPIC
Maurice Wessling, President, EDRi
Marcia Hofmann, Staff Counsel, EPIC
Edward Hasbrouck, Author of The Practical Nomad

BACKGROUND

US and EU officials are meeting today in Brussels to discuss ongoing objections to the requirements that
the European airlines provide detailed information on European air passengers. Such disclosures are restricted under European privacy law. The United States is seeking this information as part of the effort to promote air travel safety. Last week it was reported that an American carrier JetBlue disclosed 5 million travel itineraries to a US Defense Department contractor in violation of the company's privacy policies and assurances that were provided by John Poindexter, the former director of the Office of Information Awareness.

EPIC in the United States and EDRi in Europe have raised objections to the proposal for passenger profiling. Today, the two organizations will announce a series of legal actions and call for a suspension of the profiling system until the JetBlue matter is fully investigated and enforceable legal standards are established for the collection and use of passenger data.

More information is available at:
EPIC http://www.epic.org
EDRI http://www.edri.org/
EPIC Passenger Profiling http://www.epic.org/privacy/airtravel/profiling.html
Total Travel Information Awareness http://hasbrouck.org/articles/travelprivacy.html

TO PARTICIPATE

Call (512) 225-3050
Enter Access Code 65889 followed by the pound sign
The call will begin at 1 pm EDT (Washington).