Passenger data: Passengers should know what ARC is doing

ARC operates a flight database. It sells traveler data to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for a fee. Lufthansa is also involved in this clearinghouse.

The US government is quite transparent about publishing more than one might think. A recent ICE procurement document , for example, reveals the source of its data. Among the data providers is the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC). ARC specializes in personal data, which, according to the IT and tech portal heise.de, is extracted from approximately twelve billion passenger flights per year.

Lack of transparency

However, several circumstances are noteworthy. First, ICE is currently notorious for its brutal treatment of illegal and allegedly illegal immigrants, circumventing their rights. The agency reports to the equally feared Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Second, ARC is a data octopus with no competition, owned by nine airlines. In addition to the US airlines Delta, Southwest, United, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and JetBlue, Air Canada, Lufthansa, and Air France also hold stakes in this company.

ARC acts as a link between travel agencies and airlines. As a clearinghouse, the company handles financial transactions and data exchange between the two parties. If a customer books a flight through portals such as Booking.com or Expedia, the transaction is handled by ARC. The company's website states that the dataset, managed by ARC in cooperation with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), represents 54 percent of all global flights, "more than any other source of passenger travel data."

It all begins with 9/11

The precise date when the data addiction of countries, especially the United States, began can be dated: It was after the attack on the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2001. One year later, the Department of Homeland Security was first established. During this time, TIP (Travel Intelligence Program) was also developed, which enables security agencies to efficiently search other institutions' databases for personal data. This program also searches for relevant ARC data.

The problem with TIP, however, is that it's still unclear who uses this program. It is known that the US Departments of Defense and Treasury also use TIP. But what about other—friendly—states? It's also unclear whether and under what circumstances EU citizens are being recorded, which could even violate the General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR ). After all, travelers to the US are already required to disclose a great deal of personal data. However, according to heise.de, TIP makes it easy to create even more precise passenger profiles.

(thy)

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