Data brokers are selling flight information to CBP and ICE

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Scale of Data Brokerage vs “Big Tech”

  • Many comments argue that data brokers are far more invasive than widely blamed platforms like Google or Facebook.
  • Big ad platforms are said to mostly keep data in-house for targeting, whereas brokers directly sell detailed dossiers.
  • People in the industry claim the scale is “10–1000x” worse than most HN readers imagine, and that this has been true for years.

Where the Data Comes From & How It’s Combined

  • Claimed sources include credit‑card networks, POS terminals, mobile carriers, auto manufacturers, retailers, loyalty programs, airports, license-plate cameras, tax and property records, professional associations, and public records.
  • A key value of brokers is joining messy, heterogeneous data sets (often public but hard to work with) into unified, individual-level profiles.
  • Example: combining “anonymized” purchase data by postal code with a unique address can fully de‑anonymize a household.

Government Use & Legal End‑Runs

  • Buying from brokers lets agencies like CBP/ICE bypass warrant processes and inter‑agency data‑sharing constraints that would apply if they went through TSA or airlines directly.
  • Some see this as a direct workaround of constitutional/search protections; others note it’s not clearly illegal under current US law.
  • In the EU, commenters think airlines and intermediaries like ARC/IATA could face serious GDPR risk if they sell identifiable flight data.

Skepticism, Proof, and Concrete Examples

  • Several commenters demand concrete evidence and pricing for hyper‑granular data (e.g., “35‑year‑old dentists on Elm Street”) and are unconvinced by vague “trust me” claims.
  • Others respond with examples of known brokers and news stories (e.g., Kochava, credit-card data sales, carrier location fines), but exact price lists and demo receipts are rarely provided.
  • Some insist individual‑transaction histories by named person are routine; others say they’ve only seen targeting by segment/zip code.

Privacy Harms, Apathy, and Mitigation

  • There’s a recurring theme that trust was destroyed (telemetry misuse, repeated scandals), so people now assume the worst.
  • Many lament broad public indifference: even knowledgeable users underestimate non‑tech industries’ role.
  • Mitigation ideas: ad blockers, minimal social media, cash, privacy‑focused services, GDPR/CCPA requests, and specific opt‑outs (e.g., emailing ARC). Several argue true “digital rebirth” is nearly impossible.

Reconstructing Flight Histories Without First‑Party Data

  • One contributor describes reconstructing individuals’ flight histories at scale from spatiotemporal “breadcrumbs” (social media, ad logs, IoT), inferring flights from impossible travel speeds and matching to public schedules.
  • Others press for details and remain skeptical, but generally agree that pervasive location and event metadata make powerful inference models feasible even without direct airline feeds.