RSS Feed
January 5th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda - Technology installed at ten of UK’s biggest malls
- Will track movement but not personal information, developers insist
- Tiny yellow sign only warning of ‘footpath’ scanners
By
Rob Waugh
Last updated at 11:54 PM on 4th January 2012
Shopping centres have triggered a Big Brother row after installing equipment that allows them to track customers using their mobile phone signals.
The technology has raised privacy concerns after it emerged that major shopping centre owner Land Securities has installed it at ten of Britain’s biggest malls.
These include the giant Cabot Circus, Bristol; Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth; Princesshay, Exeter; Buchanan Galleries, Glasgow; Bon Accord St Nicholas, Aberdeen; and The Centre, Livingston.
A tiny yellow sign in Exeter’s Princesshay shopping centre is the only warning customers receive that their mobile phone signal is being ‘tracked’ by Footpath’s scanners. There is no way to opt out except not to enter or to turn off your mobile
Malls using the FootPath system in the
London area include One New Change and New Street Square in the City;
Cardinal Place, Victoria; and The Galleria, Hatfield.
Path Intelligence, which developed
the system in the UK, said it includes safeguards to prevent spying on
individuals and that no personal information is collected.
Rather, it is designed to track
people’s movements to better understand what shops and services they
find most interesting or useful.
However, most shoppers are completely
in the dark about the tracking technology, and the only way to escape it
is to turn off the mobile phone.
The ‘warning’ sign in the Princesshay shopping centre. Nick Pickles of Big Brother Watch says, ‘It is assumed that the shopping centre has the automatic right to track people’s mobile phones – to me that’s wrong.’
Nick Pickles, of privacy and civil
liberties group Big Brother Watch, said the law needs to be tightened to
cope with new mobile phone tracking systems.
‘People are right to be worried that
their mobile phones can be turned into tracking devices very easily,
without their permission or knowledge,’ he said.
‘While we have been given assurances
that the FootPath technology is not capable of capturing personal
information or sending communications to people’s phones, other
technologies which would allow this are available.
‘Such tracking and communications would be a significant intrusion on privacy.’
Shoppers told about the tracking were concerned that they were effectively being followed without their permission.
Path Intelligence says that its use of phone-tracking technology is widespread on Britain’s High Streets – and that ‘major’ chains already use the technology
A customer at Princesshay, Hilda
Luscombe, said: ‘This is another invasion of our privacy. We shouldn’t
have to switch off our phones to opt out. This is just spying on us.’
Another customer, Robert McConnell,
said: ‘In the George Orwell book 1984 everyone was saying ‘‘Big Brother
Is Watching You’’. In 2012, everyone is asking ‘‘Who’s watching Big
Brother?’’.’
Path Intelligence chief executive
Sharon Biggar wouldn’t name all the malls using the system, to maintain
the privacy of the firm’s clients. So shoppers can only know it is being
used if they spot the small signs put up by the centres.
Miss Biggar insisted the technology
had been misunderstood. ‘This is in no way an invasion of privacy, we
cannot identify shoppers’ information,’ she said.
‘We cannot identify phone numbers or who an individual customer is. It is very much like watching dots walking around a room.
‘We are very open with the public. We
ask our clients to have signage up where the system is operating. The
signs are exactly the same as the ones for CCTV.’
She insisted the system was far less
intrusive than the tracking used by internet giants who follow the
activities of online shoppers.
Land Securities said the technology
‘is fairly common in the retail arena’ and added: ‘We are not monitoring
a private individual. We record the movements of a mobile phone. We are
not holding any data on anyone, all we get is a red dot telling us
where it travelled to.’
Path Intelligence is combined with sales data to create a full ‘picture’ of the effectiveness of shop layouts
Share this article:
Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.
The comments below have been moderated in advance.
-
Newest -
Oldest -
Best rated -
Worst rated
They can track me all they like but I doubt they will find it very interesting!!!
Report abuse
Airplane mode!
Report abuse
You CAN opt out ; simply leave your phone at home ( or in the car if you have one )
Report abuse
Of course, the other way to opt out is to switch your phone off…..
Report abuse
Of course, the other way to opt out is to switch your phone off…..
Report abuse
Just turn it off.
Report abuse
As stupid and as ludicrous as I think this technology is, they are not collecting any personal information from anyone, and therefore there is nothing to opt out from.
Report abuse
talk about a police state … this would be banned in Germany .
Report abuse
As someone that was born in Exeter and grew up there many years ago, I am surprised they’re that sophisticated down there. But given that they are: I don’t care if they’re collecting information ‘anonymously’, you’re doing it without permission and that’s wrong. And you didn’t notify people properly “FootPath”, it’s noting to do with feet, it’s to do with tracking mobile phone signals, so simply putting up a small sign saying FootPath does not consitute adequite notification to the public as to what you’re up to. The public were not even able to make an informed decision about it because you didn’t inform them. It’s an infringement of civil libeties.
Report abuse
Another reason not to visit Exeter, as if I really needed one. Ghastly place.
Report abuse
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
Related posts:
Views: 0
Posted in 
Tags: 
