- Customs and Border Protection (CBP) may have purchased Americans' flight Data from Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), a Data broker owned by major U.S. Airlines, without their knowledge, according to internal CBP documents obtained by 404 Media.
- The Data includes passengers' names, itineraries, and financial information, and CBP requires it to support law enforcement in tracking individuals of interest.
- Senator Ron Wyden criticized the practice, stating that Airlines are selling sensitive information to the Government and that ARC has refused to answer oversight questions from Congress.
- ARC's Travel Intelligence Program (TIP) provides the Data, which includes over a billion records updated daily, covering both past and future travel arrangements made through ARC-accredited travel agencies.
- CBP stated it is committed to protecting individuals’ privacy and follows a robust privacy policy, while ARC said TIP was established after 9/11 to provide Data to law enforcement for national security and criminal probes.
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