If you've walked past a LinkNYC kiosk the past two weeks, then you've likely seen one of the variety of flyers attached to them... (thanks to everyone who has passed along photos, like Eden, Steven, Marjorie and Helaine!)
These started showing up everywhere — a la Looking for a Girlfriend guy flyers — after the arrest of a man for smashing LinkNYC kiosks a few weeks ago... and the revelation that the kiosks are equipped with (security) cameras...
🚨Apprehended🚨for CRIMINAL MISCHIEF that occurred within the confines of Midtown South and Midtown North Precincts. #midtown #manhattan @NYPDMTS @NYPDMTN Has been Apprehended thanks to the hard work of our #nypd #nypddetective #media and concerned #newyorker like you! pic.twitter.com/hKVXFW25RF
— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) April 24, 2019
There's a @RethinkLinkNYC Twitter account too.
And you can find the flyers in other parts of the city as well...
Spotted outside of a LinkNYC in Water St. in Manhattan. Public infrastructure should not be surveillance based. 💯 #RethinkLink + @ZephyrTeachout. pic.twitter.com/x5WUfSRzdA
— Jeremy Rosenberg 🏳️🌈🦄 (@JeremyR1992) May 6, 2019
#rethinklink street campaign. I wrote about LinkNYC in #PixelsAndPlace. The kiosks are an almost-good idea, offering open WiFi and digital services, but the surveillance implications of the built-in cameras – and the lack of clarity about what happens to the data – are troubling. pic.twitter.com/YCT4tTeADh
— Kate O'Neill (@kateo) May 3, 2019
When these things went up I cynically thought "really would anyone use public wifi, there are too many risks associate with those networks, is there really a need, who is paying for these, are the advertisers, does anyone want these?"
ReplyDeleteWhen looks like free ain't free and privacy is a thing of the past.
"privacy is a thing of the past" - If you accept this then it is true. The current American pod, that person who accepts every technofetish as 'progress', may be adept at stroking their little phones, but they are not very interested in liberty. China's social credit system is being put into place here as we speak, just needs 5G to add the 'live tracking update' feature.
ReplyDeleteThey should put big signs on them noting the camera with a big Uncle Sam -- "A am looking at you, Crustie."
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/rethinklinknyc
ReplyDeleteAnother Mayor Shill Scam! Pay phones No! Wifi Yes. But it's not really wifi, is it, Mr Mayor? ONE PARTY RULE. ONE PARTY RULE.
ReplyDeleteSorry but I'm really not clear on why I should worry about LinkNYC kiosks when we're all carrying around self-surveillance devices in our pockets and there were cameras all over the city to begin with? Like if you want to be mad about the death of privacy maybe be mad at Facebook/Amazon/Microsoft/Apple, etc. and all the political stooges that protect their piratical use of our personal data? Maybe be mad at the aforementioned tech giants for collaborating with a racist criminal justice system, no questions asked?
ReplyDeleteI use these things to call back numbers I do not recognize, usually they are robocall numbers.
ReplyDeleteThe city sees fit to invest in these telescreens, yet the subways are in total shambles...
ReplyDelete