PRConcerns mount about American visa waiver program, European privacy laws
Britain is one of twenty-seven countries whose citizens do not need a visa to visit the United States, a sobering thought considering that most of those arrested in last week’s liquid bomb plot were British citizens.
Is the special relationship losing its luster? Britain is one of twenty-seven countries whose citizens need not obtain a visa before flying to the United States, meaning that authorities have no way to screen them in advance of take-off. Instead, passenger data are sent soon after take-off, good enough to turn a flight back but too late if the terrorists intend to blow up the plane. Some are now proposing that the United States require visas for all foreign visitors, a policy that sounds wise considering that most of the suspected bombers arrested last week were British citizens. Policymakers rejected this approach after September 11th out of concerns that it would create buraucratic nightmares and impede tourism. Indeed, Congress is currently considering adding Poland, South Korea and other countries to the waiver list.
Problems obtaining pre-flight information highlight differences in American and European attitudes toward privacy. Since the arrests, British authorities have been providing manifest information an hour before take-off, but this is nothing more than a stop-gap solution. The European Union’s highest court ruled in May that sharing critical data such as itineraries and the credit card numbers used to buy tickets was illegal. American and European authorities have until October to devise a new system before a judge’s order ending the program goes into effect.
-read more in Eric Lipton’s and Scott Shane’s New York Times report
