OFFICIAL

 

 CASA Reference number: F25/10673

 

Dear Ben

 

I acknowledge receipt of your request for access to documents under
the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act). I have taken your request
to be for:

 

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).

  

We received your request on 23 April 2025 and the 30-day statutory period
for processing your request commenced from the day after that date. You
should therefore expect a decision from us by 23 May 2025. The period of
30 days may be extended if we need to consult third parties or for other
reasons. We will advise you if this happens.

 

You will be notified of any charges in relation to your request as soon as
possible, before we process any requested documents or impose a final
charge.

 

Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log [1]Disclosure log | Civil Aviation
Safety Authority, subject to certain exceptions (e.g personal information
will not be published where this would be unreasonable.)

 

CASA’s practice is to contact you using the email address and phone number
you provided.  Please advise if you would prefer us to use an alternative
means of contact.

 

If you have any questions or need to contact us, please email us
at [2][CASA request email] and quote your internal CASA
Reference number.

 

Kind regards, 

 

Sara McMullen (Ms, they/she)

Freedom of Information Support Officer

Advisory Section, Legal Services Branch

Legal, International and Regulatory Affairs Division
Civil Aviation Safety Authority

13 17 57

GPO Box 2005 CANBERRA ACT 2601
[3]www.casa.gov.au

 

CASA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout
Australia and their continuing connection to land, water and community.

We pay our respects to them and their cultures and to their elders past,
present and emerging.

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Ben Fairless <[FOI #13071 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 23 April 2025 11:43 AM
To: Freedom Of Information <[CASA request email]>
Subject: RMS: Freedom of Information request - Suppression of Aircraft
Data from Third-Party Flight Tracking Platforms

 

[You don't often get email from
[4][FOI #13071 email]. Learn why this is
important at [5]https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]

 

Dear Civil Aviation Safety Authority,

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

 

[6][FOI #13071 email]

 

 

 

Is [7][CASA request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to Civil Aviation Safety Authority? If so, please
contact us using this form:

 

[8]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

 

 

 

This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:

 

[9]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

 

 

 

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

 

 

 

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

 

 

 

 

 

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References

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