In a move to safeguard the skies—not to mention travelers’ privacy—Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has rocked the airline industry with a sweeping privacy review, pulling back the curtain on how the top U.S. airlines handle sensitive passenger info. The Department of Transportation (DOT) is taking a magnifying glass to the privacy policies and practices of the nation's ten largest airlines, such as Allegiant, Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, and United, to ensure that these carriers are not playing fast and loose with customer data. The audit will determine if the airlines have been monetizing or improperly sharing passenger details and if found guilty DOT is prepared to lower the boom, which could mean investigations, enforcement actions, or rulemaking, according to the U.S. Transportation Department.
"Airline passengers should have confidence that their personal information is not being shared improperly with third parties or mishandled by employees," Buttigieg asserted, underscoring the department's commitment to the initiative, and Senator Ron Wyden echoed the sentiment, praising Secretary Buttigieg and the Biden Administration for the partnership and for pushing forward a review, which may help in exposing unseen corporate abuses as consumers are often oblivious to how their data is exploited, DOT is fed up with carelessness regarding personal data and if the review manifests any shady dealings, those responsible will find no haven—and that's straight from the horse's mouth. DOT also controls the reins when it comes to enforcing the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and sharing jurisdiction with the Federal Trade Commission, so airlines best not step out of line, or they'll find themselves facing stiff penalties.
This privacy rodeo, the first of its kind, will see DOT rounding up information from airlines on their data collection, advertising, and privacy training, ensuring they are not making a buck on the sly with people’s private info. The department has sent out a letter coaxing airlines for full disclosure—basically, spill the beans or face the music—on their procedures and any complaints pointing to privacy violations or data mismanagement. Amidst this regulation roundup, the Biden-Harris administration continues to steer the economy toward bolstering consumer privacy far and wide, with other moves like revisions to children's data rules by the FTC and the pursuit of actions that would saddle companies with more obligations to secure user data and draw a line on surveillance, as reported by the U.S. Transportation Department.
