IRS Exploited Travel Data Without Warrant, Lawmakers Warn
An anonymous reader has shared a report indicating that the IRS accessed a massive database of American citizens’ travel records without obtaining a warrant. This information comes from a bipartisan letter from lawmakers, which was shared with 404 Media. The database includes details such as flight times, locations, and credit card information, all of which were sold by the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) to government agencies. This data is being sold commercially, allowing agencies to purchase access without legal oversight.
The letter highlights the IRS case as a clear example of how government agencies are accessing large volumes of travel data without proper legal mechanisms. Instead of requiring a search warrant or court order, agencies can simply buy access to the data, which is sold by ARC. Lawmakers have urged the major airlines to shut down this data-selling program, although an update indicates that ARC may have already planned to do so. The letter also states that the IRS did not follow federal law and its own policies in purchasing airline data from ARC, and did not conduct a legal review to determine if the data purchase required a warrant.