A massive aviation industry clearinghouse that processes data for twelve billion passenger flights per year is selling that information to the Trump administration amid the White House’s new immigration crackdown, according to documents reviewed by the Lever.
The data — including “full flight itineraries, passenger name records, and financial details, which are otherwise difficult or impossible to obtain” for past and future flights — is fed into a secretive government intelligence operation called the Travel Intelligence Program and provided to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies, records reveal.
Details of this program were outlined in procurement documents released Wednesday by ICE, which is a division of the Department of Homeland Security.
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Nice racket. First you pay the airlines for their tickets, then the ICE with your tax dollars to buy your data from said airlines.
The company is jointly owned by nine major airlines, most of which are US-based: Delta, Southwest, United, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, Air Canada, Lufthansa, and Air France.
I hope EU starts some investigation, because it doesn’t seem this follows the GDPR for European travelers.
Lufthansa and Air France might have some massive fines incoming.
Can we get the courts to determine that as an “unreasonable search” already?
Yeah so bad news. The government has routinely purchased data like this as an end run around the 4th Amendment. The data is collected by a third party, often with the customers “consent”.
This is why we need stricter privacy controls around our data. The fact that this data was collated in the first place is problematic. The fact that it’s being sold for profit is abhorrent.
The fact that it’s being sold for profit is abhorrent.
Not even just profit now, but literally for the furtherance of the cruelty and suffering being dispensed by ICE
The same courts that the government routinely ignores, and that has a sham, corrupt supreme court at it’s head? Yeah, good luck with that, unfortunately.
yo, the exec has said they’re actively trying to suspend habeas corpus. we’re going back in time now. i thought the tea tariffs on the UK would have been enough symbolism to work with.
Since when does a government agency have to pay for receiving a companies data? I guess there is no law for allowing ICE to access that data, and then they just pay instead?
If I had to guess, obtaining the data by force may require a court order or legal process.
Buying data that someone else is willingly selling bypasses those steps.
Any reasonable court would equate requiring a warrant and requiring payment in the context of the 4th amendment (and similar rights/laws in other countries).
Yeah that’s one of the things that stood out as what the hell… the companies already have the data, if ICE wanted it legally they shouldn’t need to pay… Really shows how shady they’re being.
At least for foreigners travelling into the US, you’re willingly giving the US govt most of this information up front anyway via the APIS. And paying for the privilege!
Can’t wait to read about the Palintir FAA merger
I’d think that they already have that due to the TSA.
Not the financial data I guess. Or perhaps none of it can be shared across agencies.
Someone trusts flying in these conditions? That’s insane.
Even if I trust the flying itself, I don’t trust not being detained upon entering the USA. I’m not flying there again anytime soon.
Even as a white male US born citizen, I also don’t see myself flying back any time soon. I’m nobody, but I’ve run my mouth against fascists online enough that I’ve probably triggered some flag in the system.
There are flight not in or out of the US…
Yea I feel the same, especially after reading this article.
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