On the eve of the Olympic Games 2012 in London found 100 high boxes for garbage collection, which had a number of additional functions. For example, they can display advertising messages on the built-in displays, have internet access and allowed to demonstrate useful current information. In addition, they monitored mobile devices bystanders, according to Quartz .
The company Renew, which owns these urns, stated that collects data on smartphones and other mobile devices with Wi-Fi for the needs of advertisers. The company tracked the movement of people, a visit to their particular stores, the amount of time spent in stores. Thanks to this information, advertisers can better target to focus their advertising campaigns.
However, the authorities in London deemed illegal installation of these boxes and collect information on users’ mobile devices without public discussion. Therefore, companies Renew recommended to stop the collection of information to a public discussion of the possibility of such devices and to evaluate their possible intervention in people’s private lives. CEO of Renew assured that the collection has stopped.
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