Overview
- Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Shontel Brown sent a letter to GAO Acting Comptroller General Orice Brown on Wednesday requesting a formal audit of the Department of Transportation’s passenger privacy practices.
- The lawmakers cite a Congressional Research Service finding that DOT has had sole authority over passenger data for over 40 years but has not taken any public enforcement actions tied to privacy.
- Wyden and Brown point to reporting that a data broker owned by major U.S. airlines sold access to flight records to federal agencies and to past Justice Department findings that the DEA paid airline employees for passenger data.
- The letter asks the GAO to examine the status of DOT’s March 2024 industrywide review of airline privacy, the agency’s coordination with the DEA, and the effects of a complaint‑driven oversight model.
- If GAO opens a probe it will produce findings and legislative recommendations that could force DOT to require active audits, public reports, or new statutory powers to limit commercial sales and warrantless access to travel data.