EU bows to US pressure over air passenger information

from telegraph: American intelligence agencies, including the FBI and the secret service, are to be given easier access to detailed personal information about transatlantic air passengers.

The EU gave in to the American demand after intense pressure and threats that planes would be turned back if details were not available.

Under a deal agreed yesterday, the EU is to sweep away a series of bureaucratic hurdles US officials needed to clear before they could access "passenger name record" information... including passengers' names, birthdays, addresses, sex, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, credit card details, frequent flyer numbers, seat assignments, passport numbers, countries of issue and nationalities.