Press Release

For Immediate Release
26 August 2008

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY TRAVEL INFORMATION RETENTION PERIOD TO EXCEED LIFESPAN OF AVERAGE GLOBAL CITIZEN

Alexandria, Va --

The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) yesterday advocated a moratorium on the new Border Crossing Information (BCI) system. The association’s call for a delay in implementation was in response to a recent notice that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has begun tracking border crossing information of foreign visitors, and would store that data for 75 years. The data retention period for U.S. citizens is 15 years.

"With the current world average for life expectancy at 66 years, the information retention period by the DHS of foreign travelers would exceed most people's natural lifetimes," said Susan Gurley, the association's Executive Director. "And while ACTE openly supports any program that will guarantee the security and intergrity of U.S. borders, there is additional concern that the DHS Border Crossing Information System may compromise the privacy of national and foreign travelers without any appreciable increase in security."

ACTE’s primary objections relate to the amount of time the data would be stored, how the data would be protected, and moreover that the data would be shared with third parties. Both the 15-year and the 75-year parameters set by the DHS seem arbitrary. In commentary submitted today, Gurley said, “The BCI 15-year data retention policy for U.S. citizens appears not to be justifiable in furthering law enforcement purposes. And, unless the typical foreign visitor was an infant when entering the United States, travel files would be kept active years after the subject would, in all probability, be deceased.”

Of equal concern to the association is that data gathered by the BCI system would be made available to undefined law enforcement agencies. Published reports state the data may even be accessed in court cases and for employment hiring purposes. ACTE’s concern is that DHS has not provided a rationale as to why travelers’ information, absent of any reported unlawful activity, should be shared with potential employers.

ACTE’s leadership has again noted that the DHS has made minimal effort to explain how data generated by the Border Crossing Information system would be stored or destroyed after the 15- and 75-year time retention periods have elapsed.

"With ACTE having so many international members, we want to ensure that DHS has reasonable and justifiable travel data retention timelines for both U.S. and foreign visitors," concluded Gurley.

ABOUT ACTE: The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) represents the global business travel industry through its international advocacy efforts, executive level educational programs, and independent industry research. ACTE's membership consists of senior travel industry executives from 82 countries representing the €200 billion business travel industry. With the support of sponsors from every major segment of the business travel industry, ACTE develops and delivers educational programs in key business centers throughout the world. ACTE has offices in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and the United States. For more information on ACTE, please go to www.acte.org.

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For more information, contact:
Jack Riepe
U.S. Communications Director
Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE)
t: 1-610-719-8396
c: 1-610-256-0124
e: [email protected]

 

For more information, contact:
Debbie Flynn
CEO
Brighter Group
The Pod, London's Vertical Gateway
Bridges Wharf, Battersea
London SW11 3BE England
T: 020 7326 9880
F: 020 7326 9890
E: [email protected]
W: www.brightergroup.com