Lawmakers Urge Google and Spirit Airlines to Halt $10 Million Data Sale

Google and Spirit Airlines face a bipartisan challenge from 119 U.S. lawmakers seeking to halt a $10 million data transfer involving millions of internal airline records, pymnts.com reported on October 8. The lawmakers argue that conventional de-identification safeguards may not protect former employees in the age of artificial intelligence. Google stated that it has already taken measures to address the concerns and does not intend to buy personal information.

Lawmakers Demand Pause on $10 Million Data Sale to Google

A letter sent to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Spirit Airlines CEO Dave Davis asks both companies to halt the transfer of information related to former Spirit employees until strict protections are put in place. Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) led the group of 119 members of Congress, according to a press release issued by Horsford’s office on October 8. The Hill reported that the bipartisan group took issue with the proposed $10 million sale of internal data intended for training artificial intelligence systems.

Innovation cannot come at the expense of workers’ privacy, and no employee data should move until real, enforceable safeguards are in place.

Rep. Steven Horsford

Records Pertaining to Defunct Airline Operations

Spirit Airlines shut down in May during its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy in two years, leaving almost 1,000 Las Vegas staff without jobs. Following the shutdown, Google paid $10 million at auction for internal digital records detailing how the airline operated. pymnts.com reported that the purchased records include about 100 million employee emails, 500 million Microsoft Teams messages, 17 million OneDrive files, 20 million SharePoint items, and 516 code repositories holding 30 million lines of custom software.

The lawmakers warned that the trove contains sensitive personnel details. According to the press release, the files may include medical information, accommodation requests, disciplinary files, compensation records, employment contracts, payroll and tax files, and timecard records. Job roles, writing style, and timecard patterns can still point to an individual even if names are removed, particularly when combined with other datasets.

Google Plans to Exclude or Deidentify Personal Data

A Google spokesperson told pymnts.com on October 8 that the company is not looking to buy any personal information from Spirit. The information will either be completely excluded or will be deidentified by an independent third party before Google receives any data, the spokesperson said in an emailed statement, adding that the company is working constructively with the appointed privacy ombudsman.

A privacy ombudsman recommended on October 5 that a U.S. bankruptcy judge approve the sale of the data at an October 14 hearing, provided that personal information from Spirit customers is excluded, according to Reuters reporting cited by pymnts.com. Meanwhile, the congressional letter urges Google and Spirit to undertake six specific steps, including establishing a de-identification protocol that affected employees agree to and protecting sensitive employee information.