PNR judgment: a shot across the bows?

"I see the judgment as a shot across the bows," said Dr Chris Pounder, a data protection expert with Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind OUT-LAW.COM. "Security and privacy have to be balanced, which most reasonable people will accept, and there must be independent supervision of the whole process so that those who use powers to obtain personal data do not exceed those powers."
The UK could circumvent the ECJ ruling and could agree a bilateral deal with the US on airline passenger information. "From the UK perspective there is a flexibility in the Data Protection Act for the Home Secretary to determine by order that these transfers should occur," said Pounder. However, he added, "It is not clear whether or not the US administration will seek to pursue bilateral agreements or come to a fresh agreement with the European Commission or indeed indvidual airlines".

(out-law.com)

http://www.out-law.com/page-6959