Lawmakers seek probe after airlines’ passenger records allegedly shared with federal agencies without warrants
Sen Ron Wyden and Rep Shontel Brown say DOT has never enforced privacy rules despite 40 years of violations
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A pair of Democratic lawmakers urged a congressional watchdog on Wednesday to investigate what they described as the Department of Transportation's failure to ensure privacy of airline passengers, warning that Americans have been exposed to warrantless government surveillance and other privacy violations.
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden and Ohio Rep. Shontel Brown sent a letter calling on the Government Accountability Office to probe the federal agency, saying it has never brought any enforcement cases linked to passenger data for more than 40 years "despite numerous widely-publicized privacy disasters impacting hundreds of millions of travelers."
"US DOT'S abdication of its role as a privacy regulator has left the sensitive personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans exposed to corporate exploitation, warrantless government surveillance, and warrantless seizure of money and other property," the letter states, adding that travel data held by airlines and travel agencies "may be of interest to foreign adversaries."
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Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., questions Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin as he testifies before the Senate Finance Committee Feb. 12, 2020, in Washington, D.C. (Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The Government Accountability Office confirmed it has received the lawmakers' demand, according to Reuters.
In 2024, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg opened a review into how the 10 largest U.S. airlines collect and use passenger information.
But two years later, the lawmakers said "it remains entirely unclear whether a meaningful review ever took place."
According to the lawmakers, the Department of Transportation did not make airlines' response letters public and did not announce public findings or seek any subsequent enforcement actions.
Rep. Shontel Brown speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Jan. 15, 2026. (Reuters/Annabelle Gordon / Reuters Photos)
The lawmakers wrote that the Airlines Reporting Corporation — collectively owned by major U.S. airlines — sold access for years to a massive database with roughly 722 million passenger travel records to federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and IRS without warrants or court oversight.
In November of last year, the Airline Reporting Corporation put an end to the sale of passenger records to the government, but DHS issued a public request this year to government contractors for a replacement airline passenger surveillance system.
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An aircraft takes off from O'Hare International Airport Jan. 18, 2022, in Chicago. (Scott Olson/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The lawmakers' letter also pointed to a 2016 Justice Department audit finding that the Drug Enforcement Administration had paid airline employees millions of dollars for access to some Americans' private passenger data.
Mishandling consumers' private information could be considered an unfair or deceptive practice by airlines, which could potentially lead to civil penalties.
FOX Business has reached out to the Department of Transportation for comment.
Reuters contributed to this report.