Ministers from the 27 European Union member states have backed plans to continue to allow US authorities to inspect the details of Europeans' bank transfers. They want the US to have access even to transfers that do not reach the US.The Brussels-based Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) manages international payments between banks. It hit the headlines in 2006 when it was discovered that transfer details were being monitored by US authorities.
The organisation owned a 'mirror' server in the US which duplicated all the activity logged on its European machine. That server was being monitored by US authorities in a way which EU data protection commissioners said was unlawful.
Source: Out-law.com
