Suppression of Aircraft Data from Third-Party Flight Tracking Platforms
Ben Fairless made this Freedom of Information request to Western Australia Police as part of a batch sent to 15 authorities
Dear Western Australia Police,
I am seeking access to documents relating to the removal, suppression, or anonymisation of aircraft data from third-party flight tracking services such as FlightRadar24, PlaneFinder, ADS-B Exchange, or similar platforms.
Specifically, I’m after:
1. Policies, procedures, or internal guidelines concerning requests to third-party services for the removal or suppression of aircraft tracking data;
2. Correspondence between your agency and third-party flight tracking platforms relating to the suppression, removal, or anonymisation of aircraft data;
3. Internal discussions, briefings, or records outlining the rationale or decisions around seeking to suppress aircraft data from public tracking platforms;
4. Statistics, reports, or summaries indicating the volume and nature of requests made to third-party platforms over the past five years;
5. Any agreements, memoranda of understanding, or formal arrangements between your agency and third-party flight tracking platforms relating to data suppression or visibility restrictions.
I am not seeking access to the personal information of members of the public, nor do I require the direct contact details or last names of public servants below the Senior Executive Service level (or equivalent for your agency).
I have submitted this request to multiple state and federal agencies. Please contact me before initiating any transfer to another agency as they may have already received an identical request.
Please consider if it’s possible to process this request informally/administratively. If you find it can’t be treated that way, please consider it a formal Freedom of Information request.
Yours faithfully,
Ben Fairless
Our Ref: FOI 2025/1180.
Good afternoon,
Thank you for your application received on 23 April 2025 requesting access
to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1992 (FOI Act).
After an initial assessment of your application it is clear you have opted
for the Non-Personal option however, no payment has been received, your
application also does not provide an Australian address to which notices
under this Act can be addressed to. Therefore, your application is
currently invalid under Section 12(1)(c) and(e) of the Freedom of
Information act 1992.
12. Access application, form etc. of
(1) The access application has to —
(a) be in writing; and
(b) give enough information to enable the requested
documents to be identified; and
(c) give an address in Australia to which notices
under this Act can be sent; and
(d) give any other information or details required
under the regulations; and
(e) be lodged at an office of the agency with any
application fee payable under the regulations.
(2) The access application may request that access to the
documents be given in a particular way described in section 27(1).
(3) An application may be lodged by delivery by hand, post or
facsimile at an office of the agency to which it is directed.
(4) If an application is lodged with an agency by post it is to
be regarded as having been lodged with the agency at the end of the fifth
day after it was posted.
(5) If an application is lodged with an agency by facsimile it
is to be regarded as having been lodged with the agency on the day on
which it is transmitted.
To make your ‘Non Personal’ application valid, payment of the $30.00
application fee will be required.
You can make payment online by submitting an application through the
Western Australia Police Force website link below and in the “Document
Description” just quote FOI 2025/1180 only. Our office will then merge
the payment with your original application.
[1]https://www.police.wa.gov.au/Police-Dire...
Please note that under the FOI Act, access applications can be dealt with
within 45 days from the date the application is is made valid. However, it
is also permitted for an extension of time to be agreed upon between the
agency and an applicant. As your application is not valid it will not be
progressed until payment has been received.
Kind regards,
Freedom of Information Support Officer
Public Access | Office of Information Management
Western Australia Police Force
T: (08) 6229 5900
E: [2][email address] | W:
[3]www.wa.gov.au/police
Dear Freedom of Information Support Officer,
Thanks for your email. Can these documents be released without a formal access request?
Yours sincerely,
Ben Fairless