European police forces will soon be able to pass on detailed personal data of their citizens to law enforcement agencies in the US without worrying about the legal implications of doing so. The agreement had been sold by the EU as simply a legal framework for sharing names, addresses and criminal records in order to prevent terrorism; the full text reveals something more:

Subject to “appropriate safeguards“, personal information revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or other beliefs, trade union membership and the sexual life about people not convicted of a crime can be passed on to the US. Chilling…