As more and more people use their smartphones to pay for everyday items, public transit agencies are encouraging millions of Americans to use their phones as their primary means of paying their fares.
In New York City and elsewhere, police can use ‘touch ‘n go’ or ‘touchless fares’ to track millions of public transit users movements.
New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority’s OMNY Executive Director Al Putre said that as of December 2020 there have been over 34 million taps.
Imagine you are the Feds or the NYPD and you just found out that your agency now has access to detailed records of over 34 million transit user’s personal information. What do you think will happen?
Transit Authority’s across the country are adopting ‘touchless fares’ putting millions of people’s privacy at risk.
Several large transit authority’s across the country have introduced ‘touchless fares’. They are Atlanta’s Breeze; Washington, DC’s SmarTrip; Chicago’s VENTRA; Seattle’s ORCA; and the California Bay Area’s CLIPPER.
The New York-based ‘Transit Center’ warns that police can use ‘touchless fares’ to track an individual’s movements and much more.
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h/t The Future Hegemon