Suppression of Aircraft Data from Third-Party Flight Tracking Platforms
Ben Fairless made this Freedom of Information request to NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services as part of a batch sent to 15 authorities
Dear NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services,
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
Thank you for contacting Northern Territory Police Force – Information
Access Team.
Please note, this email is monitored during business hours only, Monday to
Friday 8:00am to 4:00pm.
Kind Regards
The Information Access Team
Good afternoon
Apologies, I'm unsure if you received a response to your below email.
However, the information you seek does not relate to the Northern
Territory Government, you would need to contact the Australian Federal
Government.
Should you have any queries in relation to your application, please
contact our office.
Please ensure the reference number 59-FOI2025-001058 remains in the
subject line when responding on this matter.
Kind Regards
Nandu Kura
Information Support Officer
Freedom of Information (FOI) – Information Management Services
Department of Corporate and Digital Development | Northern Territory
Government
Level 1, 9 Cavenagh Street, Darwin | GPO Box 2391, Darwin, NT 0801
T: 08 899 94378 | E: [1][email address] | [2][email address]
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Dear Nandu,
RE: 59-FOI2025-001058
I’ve already reached out to the federal government to ask them, however I’m also interested to know if state and territory governments have made similar requests. Does that make sense?
Yours sincerely,
Ben Fairless
Good afternoon
Kindly be advised that State or Northern Territory government don’t hold
this kind of information. The information you’re seeking is governed by
Federal Legislation only.
Kind Regards
Information Support Officer
Freedom of Information (FOI) – Information Management Services
Department of Corporate and Digital Development | Northern Territory
Government
E: [1][email address]
Our Vision: A trusted and valued partner in government.
Our Values: Commitment to service | Innovation | Ethical practice |
Accountability | Impartiality | Diversity | Respect
[2][IMG]
Use or transmittal of the information in this email other than for
authorised NT Government business purposes may constitute misconduct under
the NT Public Sector Code of Conduct and could potentially be an offence
under the NT Criminal Code. If you are not the intended recipient, any
use, disclosure or copying of this message or any attachments is
unauthorised. If you have received this document in error, please advise
the sender. No representation is given that attached files are free from
viruses or other defects. Scanning for viruses is recommended. Please
consider the environment before printing this email.