A controversial data program that allowed the US government to buy access to billions of personal flight records is being shuttered after the company behind the data faced mounting opposition from lawmakers, privacy campaigners, and the media over the practice.
The data, which included full passenger names, domestic flight itineraries, and payment details, was being sold to various government agencies by a company called Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC).
In other words, the government could search through a massive database of personal travel details without a subpoena or judicial oversight.
ARC was set up more than 40 years ago with the aim of improving the data on ticket sales that airlines had access to. Since then, it has grown into a leading provider for settling ticket sales transactions.
It is owned by a slew of major airlines, including Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United, Southwest, JetBlue, Alaska Airlines, Lufthansa, and Air France.
Earlier this year, it emerged that ARC had created a data product known as the Travel Intelligence Program, or TIP for short.
TIP tracked flight bookings on US domestic flights and consolidated personal data belonging to passengers, seemingly without their knowledge. This data was then sold to US government agencies.
The service effectively allowed agencies such as Customs and Border Protection, the TSA, and even the IRS to search through a massive database of travel itineraries linked to individuals without the need for a subpoena.
Quick Facts
- The TIP database holds at least one billion flight records spanning 39 months of past and future travel.
- Some reports, however, suggest the database contains as many as 5 billion flight records.
- ARC says it created TIP in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attack in a bid to support national security.
- In recent years, the number of government agencies accessing TIP has ballooned. Reported customers include CPB, ICE, the Drug Enforcement Agency, TSA, U.S. Marshals Service, and more.
On Tuesday, ARC’s chief executive, Lauri Reihus, wrote to four lawmakers who had criticized the TIP program, saying it was now being shut down.
The letter, which was obtained by 404 Media, explained: “As part of ARC’s programmatic review of its commercial portfolio, we have previously determined that TIP is no longer aligned with ARC’s core goals of serving the travel industry.”
As a result, TIP is due for sunsetting by the end of the year. Agencies that had been accessing the data were informed of the decision last week.
TIP only provided data for bookings made through travel agencies, which not only included traditional brick-and-mortar establishments, but also online groups like Expedia, as well as corporate booking services.
Bookings made direct with airlines weren’t included, but despite that gap, TIP still contained data for around half of all domestic flight bookings.
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) has been a big critic of the TIP program, describing ARC as a “shady data broker” that had been “selling the government bulk access to Americans’ sensitive information, revealing where they fly and the credit card they used.”
Other lawmakers who had called for TIP to be shuttered included Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Representative Adriano Espaillat (D-NY).
Matt’s Take
There’s a reasonable assumption that the government has access to some of your data when it comes to flying. Passenger manifests generally spring to mind, but the fact that so many agencies had access to so much personal information is an obvious concern for privacy rights campaigners.
One can understand airlines being required to hand over this kind of detail if served a subpoena, although supplying a treasure trove of personal data in exchange for money certainly supports Wyden’s “shady” dealing criticism.
