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A hot potato: It's been revealed that the SEC bought access to more than one billion airline ticket records without obtaining a warrant, allowing the regulator to monitor people around the world. The database included journeys entirely outside the United States and could alert investigators when individuals booked new flights.
Documents obtained by 404 Media through a Freedom of Information Act request show that the SEC subscribed to the Travel Intelligence Program, or TIP, operated by Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC). The airline-owned company acts as a financial clearinghouse between carriers and travel agencies, giving it access to a slew of booking information.
The records contained passengers' names, credit card numbers used to buy tickets, departure and arrival cities, flight dates and numbers, and the agency responsible for the sale. Its reach covered US domestic routes, flights to or from the country, and journeys between or within foreign nations.
