Billboards have come a long way from the faded, peeling posters by the roadside. Today,
many adverts are displayed on vibrant digital screens featuring animation, interactivity
and high production values. Advanced technology has not just brought the advertising
displays themselves to life, it has also brought the integration of a wealth of tools that have
become part and parcel of street advertising, from WiFi hotspots to air quality sensors.
However, not all of the new technologies being embedded in street furniture are innocuous.
Many digital billboards are now equipped with high definition cameras that can monitor the
public space in front of them. Some of these cameras go beyond simple video recording
and contain technology that can detect and analyse somebody’s face, their characteristics
or what they are wearing so adverts can be tailored to specific kinds of people.
Read the full report at Big Brother Watch.
h/t, Joe Cadillic