A Need for Swift Change: The Struggle between the European Union's Desire for Privacy in International Financial Transactions and the United States' Need for Security from Terrorists as Evidenced by the Swift Scandal
![handle is hein.journals/jhtl8 and id is 143 raw text is: A NEED FOR SWIFT CHANGE: THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN
THE EUROPEAN UNION'S DESIRE FOR PRIVACY IN
INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS AND THE
UNITED STATES' NEED FOR SECURITY FROM TERRORISTS
AS EVIDENCED BY THE SWIFT SCANDAL.
Courtney Shea*
Cite as: 8 J. HIGH TECH. L. 143 (2008)
In recent history, the struggle between the desire for privacy and the
need for security has been affected by worldwide events. This struggle
is clearly seen in the transfer of information from the European Union
(EU) to the United States. In the last century, Europeans suffered from
violent actions, from those such as the Third Reich, which was partly
facilitated by privacy violations. Abuses like these have increased the
EU's desire to enact strong data protection laws which protect the safety
and identity of its citizens. With the invention of the Internet, there was
a similar call for stricter privacy laws in the U.S. to protect individuals'
information. However, this American trend came to an abrupt halt with
the attacks of September 11, 2001. This tragic event changed American
life, creating a new cry from U.S. citizens for stronger security
measures. As a result, a conflict of ideals was created between the EU
and U.S. where Europeans wish to protect information to avoid the
follies of the past, while the American government is continually
seeking information to learn of possible terrorist activities or plans of
future attacks.
This struggle between privacy and security has affected the transfer of
important data from the EU to the U.S. A strict European Union Data
Protection Directive [hereinafter The Directive] has made it difficult for
the U.S. to gather information in the post 9/11 era without violating EU
law. In particular, the United States' secret collection of data from
messaging services relating to international financial transactions has
been found by the EU to violate the Directive. This tracking program
was highlighted by the extensive use of the Belgium based bank
messaging service, The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial
* J.D. candidate 2008, Suffolk University Law School.
Copyright C 2008 Journal of High Technology Law and Courtney Shea.
All Rights Reserved. ISSN 1536-7983.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/jhtl8&div=7&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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