U.S. and Europe Agree on Data Collection

European and U.S. negotiators agreed on a plan to allow Washington to collect data on airline passengers, settling a privacy dispute over a Bush administration tactic to prevent terrorists from entering the U.S.

The policy applies to all passengers, including Americans, traveling to the United States from Europe.

The agreement limits the amount of data that can be collected, restricts who can see them and calls for them to be stored no longer than 3 1/2 years, said C. Stewart Verdery, a Homeland Security Department assistant secretary. The U.S. originally wanted to collect more data and keep them 50 years, he said.