According to a recent report, U.S. Customs and Border Protection ( CBP ) has purchased passenger data from a data broker owned by several U.S. airlines.
404 Media claims that the CBP’s order of secret flight passenger data was intended to aid the agency in identifying individuals of interest. The Airlines Reporting Corporation ( ARC ), which is owned by at least eight of the top U.S. airlines, sold the data to the CBP, which included the names, financial details, and flight itineraries of passengers, according to the outlet.
The big airlines are selling the government bulk access to Americans ‘ sensitive information, including where they fly and the credit card they used, according to Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore. ).
According to 404 Media, the Airlines Reporting Corporation’s Travel Intelligence Program ( TIP ) includes the sale of passenger’s private information. Federal officials claimed the CBP needed to” help federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to identify persons of interest’s U.S. domestic air travel ticketing details,” according to a Statement of Work obtained by the store.
The CBP claimed that the Airlines Reporting Corporation’s information is only used to identify people in Office of Professional Responsibility studies.
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According to the records obtained by 404 Media, the data gathered from the Travel Intelligence Program is intended to provide the CBP with visibility on a patient’s or man of curiosity’s domestic air travel ticketing knowledge as well as tickets purchased through travel agencies in the U.S. and its lands.
According to 404 Media, the Airlines Reporting Corporation instructed the CBP to “publicly identify supplier, or its employees, individually or collectively, as the cause of the reports unless the customer is compelled to do so by a true court order or subpoena and gives ARC immediate notice of equal.”
A CBP spokesperson told 404 Media that the organization is” committed to protecting individuals ‘ privacy in the course of its mission to protect the American people, safeguard our borders, and promote the nation’s economic prosperity.” As we defend the country’s air, land, and maritime environments from illegal entry, illicit activity, and other threats to national sovereignty and economic security, CBP adheres to a strong privacy policy.
The Oregon senator contacted various airlines regarding “why they gave the green light to sell their customers ‘ data to the government,” according to Wyden to 404 Media.
