SoylentNews

takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Clear Channel Outdoor is launching a program called RADAR that will use billboards to track nearby phones and mobile devices [npr.org] in order to better target "out-of-home audiences" [mediapost.com]. The data is supposedly anonymous and aggregated:

Clear Channel Outdoor — one of the largest outdoor advertising companies in the U.S. — is starting a new program called Radar that will use billboards to map real-world habits and behaviors from nearby consumers. The technology is sure to help advertisers better target their ads. But privacy advocates argue that it's, well, a little creepy. This is how Clear Channel Outdoor describes how the program works, in a video on its website [clearchanneloutdoor.com]:

"Using anonymous aggregated data from consumer cellular and mobile devices, RADAR measures consumer's real-world travel patterns and behaviors as they move through their day, analyzing data on direction of travel, billboard viewability, and visits to specific destinations. This movement is then mapped against Clear Channel's displays, allowing advertisers to plan and buy Out-Of-Home to reach specific behavioral audience segments."

AT&T is one of the partners [nytimes.com]:

Clear Channel and its partners — AT&T Data Patterns, a unit of AT&T that collects location data from its subscribers; PlaceIQ, which uses location data collected from other apps to help determine consumer behavior; and Placed, which pays consumers for the right to track their movements and is able to link exposure to ads to in-store visits — all insist that they protect the privacy of consumers. All data is anonymous and aggregated, they say, meaning individual consumers cannot be identified.

[...] Privacy advocates, however, have long raised questions about mobile device tracking, particularly as companies have melded this location information with consumers' online behavior to form detailed audience profiles. Opponents contend that people often do not realize their location and behavior are being tracked, even if they have agreed at some point to allow companies to monitor them. And while nearly all of these companies claim that the data they collect is anonymous and aggregated — and that consumers can opt out of tracking at any time — privacy advocates are skeptical. "People have no idea that they're being tracked and targeted," said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. "It is incredibly creepy, and it's the most recent intrusion into our privacy."

[...] Clear Channel Outdoor will offer Radar in its top 11 markets, including Los Angeles and New York, starting on Monday, with plans to make it available across the country later this year.

Senator Al Franken has written a letter [senate.gov] to Clear Channel asking for more information about the service's privacy policy [broadcastingcable.com].

Clear Channel Outdoor reported a loss of $41.4 million [marketwatch.com] for the quarter ending on Dec. 31.

Original Submission