A naukri.com initiative
Wired
3d
79
Image Credit: Wired
Airlines Don’t Want You to Know They Sold Your Flight Data to DHS
- A data broker owned by major airlines like Delta, American Airlines, and United, sold US travelers' domestic flight records to Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
- CBP purchased this data to track air travel of people of interest, using it for state and local police support, raising concerns among civil liberties experts.
- The data broker, Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), instructed agencies not to disclose the data source, involving passenger names, flight itineraries, and financial details.
- Senator Ron Wyden criticized the sale of sensitive data, highlighting the secrecy behind airlines' involvement in providing access to Americans' information.
- ARC, owned by major US airlines, facilitates ticket settlement services for over 240 airlines, with the sale of travel information part of its Travel Intelligence Program (TIP).
- ARC's TIP product assists federal, state, and local law enforcement to identify individuals' domestic air travel information, crucial for administrative and criminal cases.
- Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) shows that TIP data includes one billion records over 39 months, accessed daily, impacting both US and non-US persons, including US citizens.
- CBP's contract with ARC, starting in 2024 and extending to 2029, involves a significant transaction for accessing travelers' data, with additional payments for contract extensions.
- US law enforcement agencies, including CBP and ICE, rely on data brokers like ARC to obtain information without warrants or legal processes, raising concerns about privacy infringements.
- This practice highlights the growing reliance on data brokers by the government, indicating the need for congressional intervention to address the circumvention of surveillance reform legislation.
Read Full Article
4 Likes
For uninterrupted reading, download the app