US Senator Chuck Schumer calls for probe on ‘Spying Billboards’ for tapping people’s cellphones

New York Senator Chuck Schumer is calling for a federal investigation into an outdoor advertising company's use of "spying billboards," which he claims take advantage of mobile phone location technology to trace every move of unsuspecting consumers. 

According to News, Senator Chuck Schumer is keen to let people know that they are being watched by billboards. He called for a probing of "spying billboards" that allegedly use mobile phone location technology to track moves of unsuspecting customers.

"New spying billboards are being installed across the country, including right here in New York City, and they are being used to collect your mobile phone data," the senator said. He added that the billboard companies might sell the information gathered to marketing firms and companies.

ABC News wrote that the 'spying billboards' are coming from Clear Channel Outdoor America's so called RADAR Program. The senator claimed the service may violate the privacy rights of the consumers since it tracks the phone data through ad space. However, the company released a statement, arguing that the characterization of its program is inaccurate. It insisted that they only use data collected by other companies.

Company spokesman Jason King said that RADAR program is based on a years-old advertising technique which uses only aggregated and anonymized data from other companies that certify they follow standard consumer protection laws.

13 Wham published that the ad program is a partnership between Clear Channel and other companies which include AT&T and technology companies that collect location data from smartphone apps. Furthermore, Clear Channel Vice President Andy Stevens said the program gives marketers 'solution that provides a more accurate way to understand and target specific audience segments.'

However, the Senator still thinks that an investigation should be made into the company. He firmly believes that people might not understand the process and not realize that their location data is being mined, even if they agreed on accepting the terms of service of an app which later sells their information.

Tags

Senator, United States, New York, Clear Channel Outdoor America, Spying Billboards, Chuck Schumer, RADAR, Jason King, AT&T, Andy Stevens

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