Flight attendants union, Congress members seek privacy protections in Spirit data sale to Google

(InvestigateTV) — A flight attendants union and more than 100 members of Congress are pushing for greater privacy protections for former Spirit Airlines employees after Google won an auction to buy some of the airline’s internal business data for $10 million.The data includes spreadsheets and calendars. Google said the data could help improve its products and AI models.Lawmakers say Spirit records at issue in the proposed sale include 100 million emails and 500 million workplace messages.The proposal is connected to Spirit’s bankruptcy case. It has raised concerns about employee privacy.Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, leads the union that represents Spirit flight attendants. She said she is concerned workers could still be identified even if their names are removed.“AI is a fast-growing industry that is completely unregulated. So, as we started delving into this issue, we found that there were no protections on the books for employees,” Nelson said.