The European Commission asked the United States today if the personal data of air passengers were being used correctly.
An agreement between the United States and Europe in October gave US law enforcement agencies easier access to personal data on transatlantic air passengers but set limits on how that data could be used.
EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini said he had asked the US government for clarification about data published last month by the Homeland Security Department which had raised doubts about whether those undertakings were being upheld.
"We have sent today a letter to the US government to ask formal confirmation that the way European PNR (Passenger Name Record) data are handled in the ATS is the one described in the undertakings," Frattini told the European Parliament.
The ATS, or Automated Targeting System, is a computerised system used by the US Homeland Security Department to scrutinise personal data on those crossing US borders and assess whether they are a terrorism or criminal threat.
Frattini said there were "significant differences between the way in which PNR data are handled within the ATS and the one hand and the stricter regime for European PNR data".
EU lawmakers have repeatedly expressed concern that Washington has ridden roughshod over data protection concerns after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks to further a "war on terrorism".