Spirit’s privacy ombudsman backs Google’s $10m data deal
Passenger Data Sale Update
Spirit Airlines' privacy official, Lucy Thomson, has recommended approval of the sale of deidentified Spirit Airlines data to Google. In her report filed on October 5th, she states that passenger databases have been removed from the agreement.
Google secured the $10 million bid, as reported by Business Insider. A hearing regarding the sale is scheduled for October 14th, where the court will make the final decision.
The Sale Process and Changes
Spirit ceased operations on May 2nd, and Google won the data auction in August with Mercor as the backup bidder. On September 3rd, micro1, an AI training company, filed a notice of a competing bid. Thomson's initial report to the court was submitted on September 8th. Several parties, including unions for Spirit flight attendants and pilots, as well as software maker Springshot and the American Airlines pilots' union, have raised objections.
The latest report notes that Spirit and Google have agreed to exclude booking records, transactions, refunds, inflight purchases, and WiFi sales. This data will not be provided to Google in any form. The sale includes corporate email, potentially containing personal details, which will be deidentified by Tonic.ai. The agent must certify the process before each transfer, and provide details on the number of passengers' records found and removed.
Risk Mitigation
Thomson emphasizes that the potential privacy losses or costs to consumers have been eliminated or mitigated:
"The buyer must publicly commit not to try to reidentify the data. It also may not pass it on unless the recipient makes the same commitment."
Unaddressed Concerns
However, Thomson's report does not assess risks to Spirit employees or third parties. She expresses a desire to examine Mercor's security incident earlier this year if the court considers them as an alternative bidder. Additionally, she wants to review micro1's deidentification plan rather than relying on an independent party.
Google has stated that it is not purchasing personal information from Spirit and that the data will enhance its products and AI models. They did not comment further when contacted by Business Insider.
By Ana Maria Constantin