SABRE to sell *individual* transaction data!!?!?

Rohit Khare UC Irvine 4K Associates +1- (rohit@fdr.ICS.uci.edu)
Thu, 09 Jul 1998 17:36:46 -0700


[I can see it happening, given the US law's preference for patchwork privacy
(video rentals are protected, but medical records are not...) --RK]

From: Joe Harkins <joe@TRAVELTHE.NET>

_________________________________________________________________

I suggest anyone who ever pooh-poohed the threat of Big Brother to read
PCWEEK Magazine July 6, 1998 - page 10 or entire text online at:

http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/news/0706/06sabre.html

Sabre intends selling *individual* travel plans, from their computers, to
third parties. The article desccribes the data as "a treasure trove."

"Sabre could find for example who is flying to a specific city in the next
three weeks."

and then quotes Sabre CEO, "Think about how much companies would pay for
(the names of) people who have reservations to go to specific places at
specific dates and times."

Is he insane or merely stupid and evil?

Is *that* why I make reservations? So Sabre can distribute that intensely
personal data to anyone who pays for it?

Am I the only one outraged by this prospect?

This is something that absolutely MUST be legislated against.

Joe Harkins
Travel The Net
http://www.travelthe.net
a weekly newspaper column about using the Internet to plan travel

-- 
Rohit Khare    UC Irvine    4K Associates    +1-(626) 806-7574
http://www.ics.uci.edu/~rohit    http://xent.ics.uci.edu/~FoRK