Google wins Spirit Airlines workforce data at auction, drawing flight attendant alarm

NEW YORK, Aug. 20. Google won an auction last Friday to acquire a dataset covering nearly the full employment and workplace record of Spirit Airlines, the reported terms show. Flight attendants expressed alarm after the deal came to light.

The dataset excludes customer data and personal information. It covers Spirit's employment history and internal workplace records across what the reporting describes as nearly the entire airline.

Google agreed to use a court-appointed ombudsman to oversee removal of personally identifying information from the dataset before any transfer takes place, with the stated purpose of ensuring no individual can be identified from the records Google receives.

After delivery, Google is required to hold the data in de-identified form only. The company also agreed to never intentionally re-identify individuals from the stripped records. If Google grants outside parties access to the dataset, those third parties face the same contractual restrictions, according to the reported conditions of the sale.

Flight attendants' concern centered on Google's role as buyer and on the scale of the workforce records changing hands. The ombudsman requirement and re-identification ban apply regardless of who ultimately accesses the data.