Lawmakers question privacy risks in proposed sale of Spirit Airlines records to Google
Congress urges caution over a $10 million data deal involving AI training and private employee records.
9 Oct 2026
More than one hundred lawmakers sent a letter urging caution over a technology deal. They asked Google and Spirit Airlines to pause a transaction valued at ten million dollars. This agreement would let the search giant access private business records for machine learning projects.
The records contain roughly one hundred million employee emails and half a billion chat logs. Files include work contracts as well as payroll and tax information. Rep Steven Horsford detailed this scope in a written statement regarding the transfer.
Spirit Airlines has stopped operating after announcing plans to close in May. Nearly one thousand staff lost jobs in the Las Vegas area due to this move. Lawmakers fear these personal histories are being moved without worker consent.
Politicians warn that current privacy rules may fail against advanced computer models. They say de-identifying data means removing names but warns this might not stop modern computer analysis. Senator Elizabeth Warren signed the letter with Horsford to highlight these technical concerns.
Google states it does not want personally identifiable data in its purchase. The company says an outside partner will cleanse the files first. Their goal is to deliver clean records that contain no human identifiers.
If the deal proceeds, the lawmakers propose new safety checks. They want an independent audit to verify employee protection measures. The group also demands limits on usage and input from those affected workers.
No one could be reached for comment at Spirit Airlines during this review. The airline has ceased business operations and lacks active press contact channels. This silence means Google remains the only voice addressing these specific questions.
This case marks a test for digital safety standards in the tech sector. It questions whether private files remain secure after a company goes out of business. Lawmakers hope their intervention will set clearer boundaries for future data deals.