DOT Wants To Know How Big Airlines Use Passenger Data

The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced it will conduct a review of the data practices of the country's ten largest airlines, amid concerns over potential misuse of customer information for upselling, overcharging, targeted advertising, and third-party data sales, as well as the security of systems handling sensitive data such as passport numbers. From a report: The probe will look at air carriers' policies and procedures to determine if they are safeguarding personal info properly, unfairly or deceptively monetizing it, or sharing it with third parties, the agency said yesterday. If they're indeed doing anything "problematic," they can look forward to scrutiny, fines, and new rules, says the DOT. "Airline passengers should have confidence that their personal information is not being shared improperly with third parties or mishandled by employees," said US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

"This review of airline practices is the beginning of a new initiative by DOT to ensure airlines are being good stewards of sensitive passenger data." The ten airlines going under the magnifying glass are Delta, United, American, Southwest, Alaska, JetBlue, Spirit, Frontier, Hawaiian and Allegiant.

too late

[bugs2squash]

If they have it you can bet they have already sold it. Same goes for the TSA

Re:

[Can'tNot]

The TSA will not have sold passenger data. And it's never too late to protect future data.

Re:

[mjwx]

The TSA will not have sold passenger data. And it's never too late to protect future data.

This, I doubt the TSA would have sold data for a few reasons... not the least of which is no-one is that smart or competent. Also government departments tend to be watched like a hawk by both the government and anti-government folk alike.

Airlines on the other hand rarely get that level of scrutiny.

If misuse can be done and is profitable...

[ffkom]

... then it is being done. The only data secure is the data never entered or transmitted.

Here's an eye-opening article:

[echo123]

Here's an eye-opening interview of The Points Guy [archive.is], done by the New York Times.

Here's a few choice quotes from the article:

Points function, in most ways, as real currencies do. When airlines devalue their points — as United did recently during the pandemic to counter the glut of unspent miles — it can cause a minor shock wave, nerfing one card or supercharging another.

“The only thing people want more than cash, as an incentive, is travel,” says Hal Brierley, a consultant who helped de

It's advertising, all the way down

[Weirsbaski]

Just an anecdote, but last month I signed on to a group package-vacation to <continent>, and about a week ago my facebook(*) feed suddenly became covered in "see this, buy that" ads specifically targeting the three countries I'll be visiting. Yuck.

* dislaimer, yeah I know facebook is an advertising hell-hole, but sometimes I want to know what friends are up to without spending all day on the phone...

DOT Wants To Know How Big Airlines Use Passenger D

[BeaverCleaver]

About fucking time someone looked into this.

Wat?

[sinkskinkshrieks]

Pete Buttigieg is anti-marxist, neoliberal corporate clone who spat on his enlightened roots. Why would he ever do anything in the interests of consumers?