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.

  • @nuko147@lemm.ee
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    5 days ago

    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.

      • JohnEdwa
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        5 days ago

        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.

  • Rentlar
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    805 days ago

    Can we get the courts to determine that as an “unreasonable search” already?

    • @CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      355 days ago

      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.

      • Avid Amoeba
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        95 days ago

        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.

          • Avid Amoeba
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            25 days ago

            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.

      • @reiterationstation@lemm.ee
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        25 days ago

        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!

    • ThePowerOfGeek
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      305 days ago

      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.

    • @rc__buggy@sh.itjust.works
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      65 days ago

      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?

    • @toy_boat_toy_boat@lemmy.world
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      75 days ago

      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.

  • @shalafi@lemmy.world
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    415 days ago

    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?

  • Prehensile_cloaca
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    5 days ago

    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.

  • @RangerJosey@lemmy.ml
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    84 days ago

    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.

  • Sibbo
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    205 days ago

    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?

    • @FloMo@lemmy.world
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      155 days ago

      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.

    • @ILoveUnions@lemmy.world
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      115 days ago

      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.

    • @nevm@lemmy.ml
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      55 days ago

      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!

      • @reiterationstation@lemm.ee
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        25 days ago

        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.)

        • @nevm@lemmy.ml
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          25 days ago

          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.

    • Joe Dyrt
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      75 days ago

      One person can have multiple flights per year. Its still a huge number considering the billions in Asia who never fly.

    • y0kai
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      45 days ago

      You’re right, everyone is only allowed one flight per year this doesn’t add up