Conflicting Laws
Different laws in different jurisdictions will inevitably clash. Relations between the European Union and the United States have been strained over privacy because the E.U. law forbids sharing data with companies or governments in countries whose privacy laws are not as strong as those of the E.U. (The United States and the European Union have agreed to a set of “safe harbor” principles that let U.S. companies trade with European countries in spite of their not meeting all European privacy laws.) In Sidebar 9-4 you can see how these different laws can affect commerce and, ultimately, diplomatic relations.
When Privacy Principles Clash
Privacy is serious business. Commerce, travel, or communication can stop when data are to be shared among organizations or countries with different privacy principles. For example, in trying to secure its borders after the 11 September 2001 attacks, the United States created a program to screen airline passengers for possible terrorist links. The program uses information in the Passenger Name Record (PNR): the data collected by airlines when you book a flight from one place to another. The PNR includes 34 categories of information: not only your name and flight details but also your telephone number, credit card information, meal preferences, address, and more. Because Europeans constitute the largest group of visitors to the United States (13.25 million in 2013, according to Statista.com), the Americans asked European airlines to supply PNR data within 15 minutes of a plane’s departure for the United States.
