- cross-posted to:
- privacy@lemmy.ml
- europe@feddit.org
- cross-posted to:
- privacy@lemmy.ml
- europe@feddit.org
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.
You must log in or register to comment.
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.
Maximum GDPR fine is 4% of your revenue. For Lufthansa, that would be ~$1.4 billion, Air France ~$650 million, both of which are roughly their entire net income for one year.
Not sure if anyone has been hit with the maximum ever though, as everyone just keeps track of the dollars and not percentage of revenue.
AFAIK no one has triggered the biggest fines (yet?). Can’t wait for it to happen.
I think the biggest one by value is Meta with €1.2b. Although their revenue is in the $150b+ range, so not maxed out.
They better, why tf is Air France collaborating with these ICEholes?
Air Canada
Wtf Air Canada? Air France too
Assuming the data doesn’t include international departures or arrivals (only their domestic counterparts), would GDPR even apply?
I think it applies to eu citizens worldwide for online purposes. You only need to do business in eu with eu clients (seperate terms) for it to apply.
Yea, I guess because they are “selling” vs being compensated for? If the US govt dictates terms to that business under homeland security, GDPR probably wouldn’t matter, but I can only assume since it’s a sale, that’s not the case.
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 mental trick that keeps on giving. When government does it - it’s automatically bad, but when a private business does it - it’s between the business and its customers. Then all the gov’t needs to do is become a customer on the B2B side.
It’s like that because we vote in weak mediators that don’t do shit.
And we vote them in because the people that will do shit will inevitably fuck with the money of affluent neo-liberals.
True. But I think to a great extent that’s the case because business funds the weak ones and spends good money to convince us to elect them. Then they keep the profits rolling. Rinse and repeat.
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 government was voted by us so at this point you need to be telling your fellow citizens that there are fucking stupid and we must remove everyone from office at this point.
So we’re fucked. We’re fucked!
It’s not really a problem with the government though. This company collates and sells the data. They sold it to the government, who have every right to buy it if it’s being sold legally.
For those thinking this would only be a new thing under the current government, think again. These records are a goldmine for any and all intelligence agencies around the world, and it’s all been available for as long as online flight bookings have been a thing.
Patriot Act just never stops giving
Idiots supported it because it was gonna be used against the “right people”
Literally provided political support for the machinery of oppression
It’s the same reason why I find the lefts calls for censorship, prosecution of political opponents, stuffing the courts, banning of political parties, etc to be so incredibly stupid and naive.
They don’t understand that while those things are “great” when it’s their beloved do-no-wrong party in power - they won’t be in power forever! When they aren’t in power, those very same laws will be used against them but 10x worse due to the effects of those laws being used against the now-in-power party.
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.
Still it’s good to get it on record. Either the court is compromised, or gives good rationale, or ice is in breach. At this point it’s stilll a question.
Flock operates thier ALPR cameras the same way. They own the data but will happily hand it over to law enforcement. Cities are contracting with Flock to install the network of ALPRs.
If we had cops on the street recording everyone’s license plate as they drove by I’m sure a savvy lawyer could argue successfully that it’s an illegal search. Somehow, when a private company does it and makes the database accessible it’s not?
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.
No you will have to physically do it yourself (a a group). Law is dead.
Nice racket. First you pay the airlines for their tickets, then the ICE with your tax dollars to buy your data from said airlines.
Fuck.
Great point. We need to be able to see the interconnections of this more often.
Soon they will be taking Americans to their death, too, and I assume no one will do fucking shit as usual.
Did Germans do shit about Hitler? Nope, it was the rest of the world. And, well, one German who did shit about Hitler.
Too bad he didn’t act sooner.
It’s just the TIP of the ICEberg.
IBM supplied Nazis with the machines and punch cards to track the population. Throwing that out there for no particular reason. What where we talking about?
Cue the airlines come with hand-wringing to beg the Feds for more bailouts because “nobody is flying anymore.”
Parasitical business practices should lead to market exit.
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).
I would think and hope that, but evidence tends to point to the contrary.
A quick search brings up multiple articles including:
Guess those EULAS we all agreed to but never read had some sneaky language about what they can do with the data.
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.
The government can’t just take every companies data. They absolutely can buy it if that is an option though. Just like how they pay for licenses for software, they can and do pay for data.
Related to crimes, they kinda really can
Correct, but this is about collecting it without any crime.
Which is the problem.
ICE would not be able to legally subpoena these companies for our data, so they buy it from them as a loophole.
Using our tax dollars, of course.
It’s not a loophole though.
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!
Well you could have easily not fucking come here.
Americans are just fucked (and they stole the election so we get to be hated for voting for him while we didn’t even vote for him, our allies have every excuse not to lift a finger to care. Really convenient.)
Unless of course you’re forced to, like for your job. My place would have little to zero sympathy for my personal reasons not to travel unless it’s on a govt advisory not to.
Time to quit and find a better employer…
Always but this is also a naive. These parasites have the same incentive structures so they always exploit
Since always, without a subpoena. Until PRISM, at least.
I drive everywhere. Yeah, I know, fuck cars. But honestly they’re tracking everyone’s movement. Have you noticed all of the intersection cameras that have popped up everywhere? Fuck the authoritarian surveillance state.
Intersection cameras, license plate readers, face scanning. Expect some or all of it everytime you get behind the wheel.
They don’t need cameras. Your phone is constantly connecting to cell towers and broadcasting its unique identifier. Those towers keep a record of who has connected. So long as your in range of 3 or more towers they can triangulate your location.
True but I don’t like having my phone on me when I don’t want to be reachable. Sometimes it’s turned off at home.
That is a skill that more of us could use. Myself included
You got one of those dongles, like State Farm’s Drive Safe and Save program? Carry a cell phone? You’re still being tracked.
No dongle, and I don’t always carry my phone. I get nonstop work calls, sometimes I turn it off and leave it.
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.
Jesus… well, avoid flying trough US if possible.
Can’t wait to read about the Palintir FAA merger
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.
Yea I feel the same, especially after reading this article.
There are flights not in or out of the US…
Don’t fly American planes, either.
deleted by creator
As long as programs like 5-Eyes exist you just have to assume every time you interact with a company it is in the hands of all of the governments.
But useful idiots on lemmy keep telling me it’s china doing all the surveillance through companies.
Everyone is stealing your data and selling it. Feeding it into AI. Building profiles on you to better send you ads.
Yes. Literally every company. There’s no regulation so to them it’s free money.
Do foreign airlines that come into the country do this? Would an EU plane be safe from this bullshit?
Twelve billion
I thought we we’re approximately 8.2 Billion on earth? Am i missing something?
One person can have multiple flights per year. Its still a huge number considering the billions in Asia who never fly.
You’re right, everyone is only allowed one flight per year this doesn’t add up
12 billion passenger is a bad way of saying it, 12 billion flights would’ve been better.
No, passengers is the correct way of saying it. A flight can have hundreds of passengers. A person is a passenger every time they fly a leg on a plane.
Also it’s “passenger flights” in the OP, which would be a record of a passenger on a flight. If a person took 4 flights in one journey, that would count as 4 “passenger flights”.
