That billboard you’re looking at could be looking you up.
Sen. Charles Schumer urged the Federal Trade Commission on Sunday to probe the use of “spying billboards,” which he says use cellphone location technology to track unsuspecting consumers.
“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.
Speaking in Times Square — surrounded by the purportedly prying electronic eyes — Schumer said billboard companies sell the information to marketing firms and companies.
“Your personal cellphone should not become a James Bond-like gadget that is used against you by some company,” he said. “It’s your phone, your privacy. You should have to give them permission to follow you when you drive by or walk by their billboard.”
The legion of Big Brother billboards was unleashed across the country in late February, the senator said, although the number of companies relying on the technology was not clear.
“New Yorkers and tourists in and around Times Square could now be giving up a treasure trove of personal information without even knowing,“ Schumer said.
The senator also groused that the “creepy” billboards likely constitute a deceptive trade policy, as their operation violates the privacy of unsuspecting Americans who don’t realize they’re being watched.
“Once you pass by a Clear Channel spying billboard, your every move could be tracked, recorded and stored,” Schumer said. “That data can be combined with public data available online to create an incredibly detailed profile of you and your preferences.
“We all know that it’s a short step away from tracking this data and holding it to attaching your name to it.”
Schumer said he has submitted a letter to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez calling on the agency to “investigate immediately” to see if privacy violations are occurring and to require billboard companies such as Clear Channel Outdoor to offer an opt-out for consumers.
“They have huge amounts of information on you. Who knows what they could use it for?” he warned. “It’s something straight out of a scary movie. The scariest part is that the average cellphone user has no say in whether this happens.”
A spokesman for Clear Channel Outdoor denied the practice was invasive, or even new.
The system “uses only aggregated and anonymized information from privacy-compliant, third-party data providers who have verified that they adhere to consumer-friendly business practices,” the spokesman said.
“This type of campaign planning, attribution and measurement solution has existed for years in other media and is now being applied to out-of-home media,” he added.