Data exchange platform between Home Affairs Ministry and U.S. Homeland Security Department

The bill that provides for the creation of the necessary national mechanisms for the exchange of information with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security via an IT platform developed and administered by the Home Affairs Ministry cleared on Tuesday the Chamber of Deputies in a vote of 240 in favor and two abstentions.The regulatory act modifies and complements Law No. 158/2019 on a dedicated set of measures for the implementation of the Agreement between the Government of Romania and the Government of the United States of America for enhancing cooperation on preventing and combating serious crimes, signed on October 5, 2015 in Washington D.C., as well as other regulatory acts.The bill is intended to create an automated workflow with the Department of Homeland Security, which will allow the national point or points of contact designated by the American and the Romanian side to automatically search fingerprint data in the national Automated Fingerprint Identification System through the computer-assisted platform, as well as in the similar identification systems on the American side, as well as the transmission of personal data and additional information, in case of a match.The Romanian Police General Inspectorate, the General Border Police Inspectorate and the General Inspectorate for Immigration are designated national contact points for conducting automated inquiries for the purpose of preventing, detecting and combating serious crimes under the cooperation with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.The bill also includes provisions aimed at the protection of personal data processing."Should information relevant for the prevention and combat of terrorism be received during the data exchange arising from the occurrence of a dactyloscopic data match, the point of contact structures of the Home Affairs Ministry (MAI) that received the information have the obligation to transfer it within shortest time, but no later than 72 hours, to the Romanian Intelligence Service, as the national authority and point of contact for liaison with the American side in the field of preventing and combating terrorism," the regulatory act states.With a view to the implementation in the field of terrorism prevention and combat, of the Agreement between the Government of Romania and the Government of the United States of America for enhancing cooperation on preventing and combating serious crimes, signed on October 5, 2015 in Washington D.C. and ratified by Law No. 189/2017, the MAI structures designated as national contact points cooperate with the Romanian Intelligence Service, as the national authority and point of contact for liaison with the American side in the field.The additional information received from the American side on the occasion of the data exchange produced by the occurrence of a dactyloscopic data match following a query of the database is stored on the IT platform for a period of 3 years and is used by the Romanian Police, the Romanian Border Police and the General Inspectorate for Immigration for the purposes provided for in the agreement.The Chamber of Deputies is the decision-making body on this matter.