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The Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC)—a data broker jointly owned by major U.S. airlines including Delta, United, American, Southwest, Alaska, JetBlue, and others—has decided to terminate its Travel Intelligence Program (TIP) by the end of 2025. This program had been selling access to a massive database of passenger flight records to various U.S. government agencies without warrants or subpoenas.
Key Details of the Program
- What data was involved? TIP aggregated booking data primarily from travel agencies (e.g., Expedia, corporate booking tools) accredited by ARC, covering roughly half of U.S. domestic flights. It included full passenger names, itineraries (past and future travel over ~39 months), payment details (like credit card information), and other personal identifiers. Estimates of the database size ranged from 1 billion to over 5 billion records, updated daily.
- Who bought the data? Agencies included U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), IRS, Secret Service, FBI, ATF, and others. Access allowed searchable queries by name, credit card, or other fields to track individuals’ movements for investigations.
- Origins and secrecy: Launched post-9/11 for national security, TIP operated commercially, bypassing Fourth Amendment warrant requirements via the “data broker loophole.” Contracts often included nondisclosure clauses preventing agencies from revealing ARC as the source.
- Why Was It Shut Down? The decision followed intense scrutiny starting in mid-2025:
Investigative reporting (e.g., by 404 Media) exposed the program through FOIA documents, revealing warrantless surveillance of Americans’ domestic travel.
Bipartisan congressional criticism, led by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), who called ARC a “shady data broker” profiting from sensitive data. Other lawmakers, including Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, demanded termination. Privacy advocates highlighted risks of mass surveillance, especially impacting immigrants and minorities.
On November 12, 2025, ARC notified all government customers that TIP would “sunset” by year’s end. ARC’s CEO Lauri Reishus confirmed this in responses to lawmakers, citing the controversy. ASRC has not released any public statements.
Implications and Ongoing Concerns
Shuttering TIP closes one major avenue for bulk, warrantless travel tracking. Lawmakers are pushing airlines to commit to only sharing data under legal compulsion (e.g., court orders) in the future.
Limitations: Direct bookings on airline websites were not captured in TIP, so not all flights were affected. Government agencies may seek alternative data sources or push for new laws.
Broader context: This fits into debates over data brokers selling location/movement data to law enforcement, often evading constitutional protections.
The story broke widely on November 18, 2025, with coverage from outlets like Paddle Your Own Kanoo, 404 Media, and Migrant Insider. If you’re concerned about your own travel data, booking directly with airlines (bypassing third-party agencies) reduces exposure to similar systems.
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