PHILADELPHIA— Should GDS companies and travel agents share customer information with law enforcement officials as a precautionary measure to identify terrorists? That issue, and other security questions, was a focus of panel discussions at the New Frontiers in Travel Distribution conference being held here this week. Gary Doernhoefer, general counsel for Orbitz, the fledgling on-line agency owned by the major airline companies, noted that customer privacy is a huge issue for his company— and on-line agencies in general— since getting consumers to feel confident booking over the Internet is still a challenge. But after Sept. 11, Orbitz faced new challenges. “Prior to Sept. 11 our focus was on privacy, not security,” said Doernhoefer. “We were working on the tightest privacy possible to ensure confidence in the Internet as a viable commercial entity.” After the terrorist attacks, however, “we went to internal discussions about what data we should turn over to the authorities in order for them to search for the terrorists. The shift was breathtaking.” The manner in which the travel industry views security has changed forever, he indicated. Referencing a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Doernhoefer noted that the focus on security has shifted from being about screening baggage “to the actual person.” On-line travel agents have more data on customers than anyone, he said, ranging from phone numbers, credit cards, e-mail addresses and possibly other individuals whose names have been provided as potential customers. A conflict exists, however, said Doernhoefer, since Orbitz at its inception made a commitment to its customers about privacy issues, ie. not sharing their information with third parties. “We toiled over the policy and we meant it,” he said. So, “what happens with this collision, this need for privacy and the need for national security?” he queried. If there are going to be any significant changes in this arena, it will likely not come from the commercial side, said Doernhoefer. “None of us are going to do a press release saying all of the information that you gave us will now be given to the federal authorities.” As a result, a mandate for sharing such information would have to be driven by the federal authorities, he concluded. David Schwarte, svp and general counsel for Sabre, who shared the stage with Doernhoefer, said that GDS companies “are already bound by a privacy code, but in no way does that preclude us from sharing information with the federal government.” Schwarte proposed that a solution could be for the federal government to have a master database which could be compared with databases of on-line agencies and the GDS companies. He also noted the growing support for a national traveler identification card which would use biometrics as an identifying measure. If customer data were to be compared to a federal master database, the actual work of running a match to identify potential terrorists would have to be done by the federal government, Schwarte said. “This is not a job for private industry, think of the liability if they missed a match,” he pointed out.
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