Key facts
- A consumer privacy official recommended approving Google's $10 million bid for Spirit Airlines' data.
- The sale still requires court approval, with a hearing scheduled for October 14.
- Google stated the data would help improve its products and AI models.
- Spirit and Google revised the scope of data, excluded passenger databases, and hired Tonic.ai for de-identification.
- The ombudsman stated that any risk of privacy losses to consumers had been eliminated or mitigated.
- Unions representing flight attendants and pilots have objected to the sale, citing privacy concerns.
A court-appointed consumer privacy official has recommended that Google's $10 million bid for Spirit Airlines' old data be approved, citing measures taken to protect passenger privacy. The ombudsman, Lucy Thomson, stated in a filing on Monday that Spirit and Google had taken "consequential steps" to safeguard personal data, including revising the scope of data included, excluding passenger databases, and employing Tonic.ai for de-identification.
Thomson's filing indicated that these changes would "significantly reduce the potential risk of harm to the 97 million consumers" who provided their data to Spirit for booking travel, asserting that any risk of privacy losses had been "eliminated or mitigated." Google has stated that the data, which it plans to use to improve its products and AI models, will either be excluded or de-identified before it is received.
However, unions representing Spirit flight attendants and pilots have objected to the sale, arguing it would undermine their privacy. The union representing American Airlines pilots, including some who previously worked for Spirit, also filed an objection, suggesting the sale could impact aviation safety. The ombudsman's review focused specifically on consumer privacy risks and did not extend to potential privacy risks for employees.
The proposed sale, which occurred after Spirit Airlines shut down in May, still requires court approval. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for October 14. The filing also noted that if other bids, such as those from AI training companies Mercor and Micro1, are considered, further review of consumer privacy concerns would be necessary, particularly regarding a "supply chain security incident" at Mercor.