JetBlue Confirms Sharing Passenger Data
JetBlue Airways has confirmed that in 2002 it had provided 5 million passenger itineraries to a defence contractor for proof-of-concept testing of a Pentagon project unrelated to airline security, without the passengers' consent. The contractor, Torch Concepts, then augmented that data with Social Security numbers and other sensitive personal information, including income level, to develop what looks to be a study of whether passenger-profiling systems such as CAPPS II are feasible. JetBlue clearly violated its own privacy policy by transferring its passenger data. Such a violation could be grounds for an investigation of unfair business practices by the Federal Trade Commission, which has the authority to fine companies and issue injunctions.
JetBlue Shared Passenger Data
Wired, September 18, 2003
