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
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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]
Our Vision: A trusted and valued partner in government.
Our Values: Commitment to service | Innovation | Ethical practice |
Accountability | Impartiality | Diversity | Respect
[3][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.
-----Original Message-----
From: Elfverson, Theresa <[email address]> On Behalf Of
Information, Police
Sent: Thursday, 24 April 2025 8:04 AM
To: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: FW: Freedom of Information request - Suppression of Aircraft Data
from Third-Party Flight Tracking Platforms
Good morning,
On 23.04.2025 the IAT – Information Access Team received below email to
access information under the Information Act 2002 (the Act) from Ben
Fairless application is attached.
The application has been provided to you for your consideration and
actioning.
If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact this office.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
Kind Regards
Theresa Elfverson | AO4 Co-Ordinator Information Officer – CVSU / Legal
Advocacy/ Informal Request for Information (RFI) Information Management
Section | Business and Operational Support Services | NT Police, Fire
and Emergency Services PO Box 39764 Winnellie NT 0821 p... (08) 8985
8928 | e... [4][email address] |
[5]www.pfes.nt.gov.au
-----Original Message-----
From: Ben Fairless <[6][FOI #13077 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 23 April 2025 11:19 AM
To: Information, Police <[7][email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Suppression of Aircraft Data
from Third-Party Flight Tracking Platforms
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organisation. Do not
click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know
the content is safe.
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
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[8][FOI #13077 email]
Is [9][NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services? If so,
please contact us using this form:
[10]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
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:
[11]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://internal.nt.gov.au/dcdd/about-us...
4. mailto:[email address]
5. http://www.pfes.nt.gov.au/
6. mailto:[FOI #13077 email]
7. mailto:[email address]
8. mailto:[FOI #13077 email]
9. mailto:[NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services request email]
10. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
11. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
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.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ben Fairless <[FOI #13077 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 4 June 2025 11:40 AM
To: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: Re: 59-FOI2025-001058 - RE: Freedom of Information request -
Suppression of Aircraft Data from Third-Party Flight Tracking Platforms
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organisation. Do not
click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know
the content is safe.
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
-----Original Message-----
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]
Our Vision: A trusted and valued partner in government.
Our Values: Commitment to service | Innovation | Ethical practice |
Accountability | Impartiality | Diversity | Respect
[3][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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[3][FOI #13077 email]
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:
[4]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://internal.nt.gov.au/dcdd/about-us...
3. mailto:[FOI #13077 email]
4. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...