U.S. Department of Transportation Launches Industry-Wide Review of Airline Data Security and Privacy Policies

The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced a groundbreaking industry-wide review of data security and privacy policies across the largest U.S. airlines. This review will focus on whether airlines are properly protecting their customers’ personal information and if they are unfairly or deceptively monetizing or sharing that data with third parties.

The DOT stated in a press release that letters will be sent to airline executives with questions about how they collect and handle passengers’ personal information, how they monetize customer data through targeted advertising, and how employees and contractors are trained to handle passenger information. The airlines included in this review are Allegiant, Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, and United.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg emphasized that the goal of this review is to ensure that airlines are being good stewards of sensitive passenger data. The DOT did not specify what prompted this review but mentioned that it is part of a broader effort by the U.S. government to protect consumer privacy across the economy.

Recent actions by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, such as banning data brokers from sharing sensitive location and browsing data and ordering companies hit by data breaches to improve their security practices, have highlighted the importance of data privacy. The DOT also mentioned that the FTC is exploring rules to crack down on surveillance and lax data security.

The privacy review will be conducted in partnership with Sen. Ron Wyden, who has raised concerns about the sharing and sale of sensitive consumer data to data brokers. Wyden has warned about the potential misuse of personal information by data brokers and intelligence agencies purchasing commercially available data about Americans.

Overall, this industry-wide review of data security and privacy policies in U.S. airlines marks a significant step towards ensuring the protection of passengers’ personal information and holding airlines accountable for their data practices.