Spirit Airlines may be gone, but a $10 million fight over what happens to its old data is still playing out, with a court-appointed consumer privacy ombudsman backing Google's bid for the records even as labor unions warn the sale could expose workers and create aviation safety problems.
Here's what to know
According to Business Insider, Lucy Thomson, serving as the court-appointed consumer privacy ombudsman, told the bankruptcy court in a filing that approval is warranted, writing, "The parties have taken consequential steps to protect the privacy of the personal data of the Spirit consumers."
The deal was narrowed so certain consumer information would no longer be included: passenger databases were carved out, and Tonic.ai was used to strip identifying details from data that could still contain consumers' personal information, including company emails.
The filing said those revisions could better protect the 97 million consumers who shared data with Spirit when booking flights, stating that the changes would "significantly reduce the potential risk of harm" to them. Thomson also wrote that any risk of privacy losses to consumers had been "eliminated or mitigated."
After Spirit shut down in May, Google submitted the winning $10 million bid for the data, saying it could help improve the company's products and AI models. Even so, the sale still needs court approval.
More background
The recommendation does not settle the dispute, and opposition remains active.
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Spirit's flight attendants and pilots, through their unions, have argued the transfer would put their privacy at risk. The American Airlines pilots' union, which includes about 700 former Spirit pilots, said in its objection that the deal could interfere with aviation safety.
Thomson was not tasked with judging every privacy question raised in the case. Under U.S. bankruptcy law, her role was to examine consumer protections, and her filing expressly said employee privacy risks were outside that review.
A Spirit representative did not provide additional comment when Business Insider reached out, and Google did not respond to a request for comment for that report.
What's being done?
One key revision Thomson described was removing passenger databases from the transaction, which further limited the information that could be transferred.
The companies also arranged for Tonic.ai to de-identify any remaining material that might reveal identities before it reaches Google. Thomson said that set included data that could contain personal information, such as company emails.
Google has also publicly drawn a line around what it says it is not buying.
"Google is not buying any personal information from Spirit," the company said. "The information will either be completely excluded or will be deidentified by an independent third party before Google receives the data."
The bankruptcy judge still must decide whether those safeguards are enough to let the $10 million sale move forward over the unions' objections.
Where can I learn more?
For more context, these stories look at the broader fights over AI data use, worker backlash, and the business pressures behind the industry's AI push.
• OpenAI's outsourcing of low-paid AI labor has intensified scrutiny of who bears training's costs.
• The Common Crawl Foundation faced accusations that sensitive web content was exploited through AI-focused data collection.
• At Amazon, more than 1,000 employees challenged controversial AI use they said could aid surveillance.
• Lawsuits against major tech companies argue training relied on copyrighted works without permission.
• Google CEO Sundar Pichai warned no company is immune if an AI bubble bursts.
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