Google's $10 Million Spirit Data Bid Halted Over Employee Privacy Fears

Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc.'s bankruptcy sale to Google has hit a roadblock due to concerns over employee data privacy. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO raised objections in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, citing worries about confidentiality.

The deal includes 100 million emails, 500 million Microsoft Teams chats and collaboration records, as well as information related to revenue, aircraft operations, employee productivity, and audits and fraud. Google won the auction with a $10 million bid and claims it will scrub the data of any personally identifiable information before receipt.

The AFA is concerned that even deidentified data can be sensitive and argued that disciplinary records, training deficiencies, and medical or accommodation requests are still confidential. They also raised questions about links between payroll, timekeeping, and communications data and whether there will be an independent screen for employee confidentiality.