Interesting piece on philosecurity about a DHS and the information that is collected about travelers.
DHS uses "The Automated Targeting System has been used to screen passengers since the mid-1990s, but the collection of data for it has been greatly expanded and automated since 2002, according to former DHS officials."
According to the Washington Post
Yes. The European Union balked at the notion that it needed to collect similar information on persons travelling to the US. Eventually a compromise was reached but it took a couple of years of negotiation.
There is a certain irony to the fact that privacy protections in the EU are more stringent than in the US.
Everything is tracked. My supermarket knows how much wine and coffee I buy. Google knows what I search for. Car number plate recognition knows many places I drive. My bank and credit card company know what I spend. My frequent flyer airline knows where I travel to.
We just hope that the information collected is used responsibly - and that is probably the debate