Not long ago, I did a routine check-in on a project I hadn’t thought about in a while: a Data Liberation Project repo that scrapes and archives Transportation Security Administration (TSA) traveler complaints.
It was supposed to be a quick check-in—just restart the scraper GitHub had paused for inactivity. No big deal. I’d just restart it, watch it pull in the latest report, and move on.
But when I did? The latest report wasn’t there. Actually—none of them were.
Where did the TSA complaints reports go?
For years, the TSA published complaint reports in its FOIA Electronic Reading Room, alongside airport checkpoint volume data and other agency documents. The complaint reports were PDFs—quirky, inconsistent, and definitely not designed for easy analysis—but they were public. So the Data Liberation Project built scripts to collect and archive them anyway.
I searched the TSA’s site carefully, hoping the files had simply been moved or renamed. To establish a timeline, I checked the Wayback Machine, a digital archive of the web. The reports were still online as of January 27th, 2025. But by January 30th, they were gone.
That raised a red flag—especially because just days earlier, on January 20th, Trump’s first day back in office—he had fired TSA Administrator David Pekoske. That might be unrelated. But the timing felt worth noting.
What’s in these reports, anyway?
These TSA complaint reports mainly consist of tallies of traveler grievances, broken down by categories like “screening,” “civil rights,” and “mishandling of passenger property.” Over time, the data reveals a picture of what travelers are experiencing, which airports are most affected, and how or if the TSA is responding.
In fact, a 2024 FedScoop article used our collection of this data to track a sharp increase in complaints about TSA PreCheck. These complaints more than tripled from 2015 to 2024, even though the number of enrolled passengers grew by only 25%.
The removal of these reports raises serious questions about why the TSA chose to pull this information from public view. With air traffic controller shortages and outdated equipment continuing to disrupt travel, visibility into TSA complaints could offer insight into how security screening and traveler support are being handled amid broader system strain.
Thanks to the Wayback Machine, I was able to recover and save the October 2024 report—the last one publicly available before all complaints reports were taken down.
Now, the Data Liberation Project’s GitHub repo serves as a historical archive for these reports. Anyone looking for these records can still access them. This archive reminds us that these reports were once available to the public and, theoretically, could be shared with us again.
This isn’t just a TSA problem
Unfortunately, the quiet removal of TSA complaint data is just one example of a much larger trend. Under the Trump administration, we’ve seen a wave of data and document removals across federal agencies—often without public notice or explanation.
The CDC removed guidance on HIV prevention and contraception. The Office of Justice Programs took down pages mentioning dating violence and hate crimes. A Justice Department database on criminal charges from the January 6 Capitol attack was taken offline.
These deletions don’t just undermine public accountability—they erase critical knowledge, endanger scientific progress, and make it harder for Americans to know their own history.
Anyone can help preserve transparency
Public data is disappearing—but anyone can help preserve it. Groups like the Data Rescue Project and the Data Liberation Project are racing to preserve public interest datasets and they need all kinds of support.
You don’t need to be a data expert. Help is needed to document metadata, identify vulnerable datasets, or download files before they vanish. Even one FOIA request can make a difference.
These small acts can keep the public informed—and hold power accountable.
