this post was submitted on 08 Aug 2026
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SEC bought access to over a billion airline records to track travelers, no warrant required (www.techspot.com)
submitted 2 days ago by sanitation@lemmy.today to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] Greyghoster@aussie.zone 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

“The records contained passengers' names, credit card numbers used to buy tickets, departure and arrival cities, flight dates and numbers, and the agency responsible for the sale.“

And it includes flights that are totally outside the US.

A good reason to not use your primary credit card as who knows who has access to this data. A debit card linked to a burner savings account is probably best.

[–] Techranger@infosec.pub 1 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (1 children)

Aren't banks subject to KYC rules? At least, in the US?

[–] Greyghoster@aussie.zone 2 points 10 hours ago

My worry is card theft. Using a a card with a low limit or a debit card on an account that doesn’t have much money in it seems the way to limit exposure. All the accounts are legitimate in your own name.

The whole idea that your data can be sold by a middleman or anyone also seems on the nose but that’s the way it is.

[–] Monument@piefed.world 21 points 2 days ago (4 children)

How is this not unlawful search?

I understand that because the use of and purchase/sharing of this kind of data (which for the purposes of my arguments includes any data broker data, including the data from Flock license plate readers) is not considered illegal due to a lack of consumer protection laws. But how is the government acquiring and using this data not considered a subversion of due process?

[–] boaratio@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

They count as business records. No need for a warrant.

[–] DeckPacker@piefed.social 4 points 1 day ago

They don't care, law doesn't really matter anymore

[–] Simulation6@sopuli.xyz 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Does anyone really have expectations of privacy when then buy a ticket and then fly in a plane full of people to a different city, stat or country?

[–] Monument@piefed.world 1 points 1 day ago

Yes. I expect privacy like I have a right to it.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 2 points 2 days ago

Because the majority of the SC are traitors.

[–] jaybone@lemmy.zip 23 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Why the hell is the SEC doing this?

Guess I’ll read the whole article to find out.

The report is especially surprising because the SEC is a civil financial regulator tasked with investigating insider trading, securities fraud, and market manipulation. It's not an intelligence or counterterrorism agency

So…?

[–] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 17 points 2 days ago

So:

Critics say buying commercially available records allows government agencies to bypass safeguards that could require a warrant or court order if the information were demanded directly.

The SEC is controlled by regime flunkies now. This is an end-run of the 4th amendment.

ARC announced last November that it was shutting down TIP following pressure from lawmakers and reports about its government contracts. The program ended in 2025, but the newly released SEC documents reveal that its reach was far wider than previously known, and that overseas travelers were included in the system.

In related news, it was reported in March that FBI Director Kash Patel defended the bureau's continued purchase of Americans' location data, despite warnings from lawmakers that the practice sidesteps Fourth Amendment protections.