DOT Closes Airline Privacy Review Without Penalties
The U.S. Department of Transportation closed a data privacy review of the 10 largest airlines without imposing penalties, sparking criticism from lawmakers.
The United States Department of Transportation closed a review into the data privacy practices of the 10 largest U.S. airlines without imposing any penalties. The investigation, which began in March 2024 under former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, concluded that the airlines did not violate applicable laws or departmental policies.
Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Shontel Brown criticized the closure, alleging significant privacy abuses. They claimed the Drug Enforcement Administration paid airline employees millions of dollars for passenger data and that a joint airline database sold records to the Internal Revenue Service without warrants. Wyden argued that the department's reliance on privacy policies and training is insufficient given the evidence of abuses.
While no violations were found, the department advised airlines to avoid individual-based pricing and reminded them to prevent unlawful discrimination in dynamic pricing. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy previously pledged to investigate personalized pricing, though Delta Air Lines has denied using artificial intelligence for individualized pricing.
