Flight tracking, the new hype of committed citizens?

• Flight tracking has established itself this summer as the essential tool for denouncing the movements of the wealthiest on board their private jets.

• “In 1968, social movements occurred in physical space.

  In 2022, they mainly take place on social networks and with digital tools”, analyzes Cécile Varin, expert in digital strategy for a sustainable world.

• Beyond “flight tracking”, the exploitation of open source data seems to have a bright future.

It is the latest weapon of environmental activists.

But who is really hiding behind

 ?

Geeks, aviation fans?

Citizen investigators for whom OSINT - the online survey using open source - opens up a field of possibilities?

“In 1968, social movements took place in physical space: in the streets, in newspapers, in factories, universities… In 2022, movements mainly occur with digital tools and on social networks.

», Analyzes Cécile Varin, expert in digital strategy for a sustainable world.

Twitter and Instagram accounts like @IflyBernard, @laviondebernard or @ElonJet have become popular in recent months due to "increasingly obvious climate change", notes Suzanne Vergnolle, specialist in digital law and data issues.

“It is also a reaction to controversies such as that launched by the PSG on a Paris-Nantes in a sand yacht, or to the law which since this year imposes taking the train rather than the plane for journeys of less than 2h30. .

But private jets do not fall into this new field of action,” she adds.

But what

exactly is

“It is, for safety imperatives, the possibility of following the routes of aircraft in global airspace, where, unlike land routes, the lanes are not materialized, explains Suzanne Vergnolle.

The devices are all equipped with transponders and tools allowing their precise location at any time.

And the transmitted data is unencrypted.”

So accessible to all.

A well-established practice

However

is not a new phenomenon.

“In 2014, for example, when a plane was shot down over Ukraine by a Russian missile, a major investigation was carried out, in particular by FlightRadar24, recalls Suzanne Vergnolle.

It is therefore not at all the first time that

has been used for something other than ensuring that planes do not collide in the sky”.

At the time, it was the Bellingcat investigative specialist group that carried out part of the investigations.

[#OSINT] Week in OSINT #2022-37 (by @Sector035):https://t.co/H3BoOywLUL pic.twitter.com/eWYihRC1wF

— Serge Courrier (@secou) September 19, 2022

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FlightRadar24 has been around since 2006 and is also a particularly popular tool for… football fans!

It allows, during the various mercatos, to feed the Twittosphere with exclusive information on which player could be transferred to their favorite club.

Last use to date: a Lyon supporter went to welcome John Textor, potential future owner of the club, at Bron airport, a few hours before OL-PSG.

Nothing surprising for Cécile Varin, who compares FlightRadar24 to “a video game, both very accessible and fun.

But beyond this playful and popular aspect, the current media buzz bears witness to the communication war waged by the very rich, citizens and activists, defenders of access to information, for decades”.

Damning data

The outcry provoked

by the movements of the most affluent has therefore shone the spotlight on

and apps such as FlightRadar24 or ADS-B Exchange.

“The issue of global warming is a collective and individual responsibility, recalls Serge Courrier, head of the Osint specialty at the European School of Economic Intelligence.

No one can absolve himself of his individual responsibility, even when one "creates wealth".

However, if we try to compare the carbon footprint per person of a private jet flight and a commercial flight, it's a disaster!

".

Landed in Brownsville, Texas, US.

apx.

flt.

time 42 Mins.

pic.twitter.com/gKBRv733DS

— ElonJet (@ElonJet) September 22, 2022

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Even though the air sector is only responsible for 2-3% of global CO2 emissions, private jets have a carbon footprint per passenger 5-14 times greater than commercial flights and 50 times greater than the train, according to a report by Transport & Environment, which brings together European NGOs in the sector, published in May.

And business aviation, in poor shape since the 2008 financial crisis, has for several months exceeded its level of activity before the pandemic in Europe: it has increased by 16% in three years, according to Eurocontrol, the traffic monitoring body.

The jets have found new followers because of the decline in traditional air links and fear of contamination in commercial flights.

One in ten planes taking off in France is private, and half travel less than 500 km, according to Transport &

The power of online communities

"It is quite simple to find the name of a flight, its take-off airport, the airline, or even its registration", explains Serge Courrier.

For him, “FlightRadar24 is easy to use.

ADS-B Exchange is a little less intuitive, but more comprehensive, not least because it refuses to delete certain flights at the request of their owners.

They are therefore not specifically "citizen" tools, but they are easily usable by citizens.

»

And at the origin of this collected data are very numerous groups.

“Most of the major

sites rely on very large communities, which have placed antennas in their homes.

This allows an extremely precise territorial network.

», notes Suzanne Vergnolle again.

“It's a way of using the power of online communities to mobilize opinion, call them to react and show their disapproval.

We are witnessing a parallel democracy, clearly visible on the social web.

“, adds Cécile Varin.

This also makes a stricter framework for

hardly conceivable.

“Isn't there a right of the public to have access to this information?

Are we not feeding and enriching the public debate?

, asks the specialist in digital law.

This is a debate that will be very difficult to censor.

Indeed, where users of private jets, very often registered under the name of companies and not in their own name, call for respect for their private life, Suzanne Vergnolle opposes protection of the home and the right to respect for private life to her residence.

"It is also a way of responding to the right to live in a healthy, clean and sustainable environment, which is clearly potentially undermined with the mass movements of aircraft which, even if they represent only a small percentage total pollution,

What place for ethics?

“Open data, the principle on which

is based , is essential both from a democratic point of view and for innovation.

The opportunities are immense, projects Suzanne Vergnolle.

It is a trend that will be confirmed and a trend to be defended, because it is useful for society”.

“But this is not a battle that would only concern environmental activists, recalls Cécile Varin.

I share the alarmist observation of John Doe, the whistleblower behind the Panama Papers.

The secret of ultra power today is the mask which "removes all responsibility towards society. But without responsibility, society cannot function".

And supports Serge Courrier, “FlightRadar24 and others identify planes and not passengers”.

The opportunity for the specialist Osint of the European School of Economic Intelligence to press the need for rigor and finesse in the interpretation of raw data.

"Just because the information is freely available doesn't mean people using it don't have to ask themselves ethical questions."

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• By the Web

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• Aviation

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• Environment