New York City has ordered the quick removal of about 500 devices from payphone booths around Manhattan, following an Internet news media company’s claim that the devices could track people.
Outdoor media company Titan, which owns the ad space on payphone booths in the city, installed near the end of last year about 500 beacons, Bluetooth devices that interact with smartphones to send information.
Buzzfeed’s article early Monday, where it revealed Titan’s little-known installation, used phrases such as “Beacons can push you ads—and help track your every move,” that had New York officials moving quickly to pacify the public.
The Mayor’s Press Office released a statement in the afternoon: “While the beacons Titan installed in some of its phones for testing purposes are incapable of receiving or collecting any personally identifiable information, we have asked Titan to remove them from their phones.”
Over the coming days, the beacons will be removed from payphone booths.
In a statement, Titan’s chief strategy officer, Dave Etherington, said the testing was designed to determine how the beacons functioned in dense metropolitan areas.
