Google has purchased a dataset from the defunct Spirit Airlines for $10 million, a move that has drawn an objection from the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. The tech company stated the data will be used to improve its products and artificial intelligence models, assuring that no personal customer information will be obtained.
The acquisition includes employee data, payroll records, tax forms, and a large volume of digital communications such as approximately 100 million emails, 17 million OneDrive items, 20.6 million SharePoint items, and 500 million Teams items. While Spirit Airlines asserts the data will be deidentified by a third party and certified as compliant with privacy regulations, the flight attendants' union has voiced significant concerns.
The union argues that while the data may be deidentified to prevent direct tracing to individuals, the confidential nature of its contents has not been addressed. They fear that information pertaining to identifiable individuals or small groups could still be reconstructed. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA has requested the court to halt the sale or, failing that, to ensure flight attendants receive the same privacy protections afforded to consumers.
Spirit Airlines, which ceased operations in May after 34 years in business, had 17,000 employees at the time of its closure. A court hearing is scheduled for September 9 to address the matter further.