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Civil Liberties Union accuses NYC Wi-Fi kiosks of gathering sensitive data

The New York Civil Liberties Union recently sent a letter to the New York City mayor's office regarding the new LinkNYC Wi-Fi kiosks, which may be storing too much sensitive information.

March 22, 2016

The New York Civil Liberties Union recently sent a letter to the New York City mayor's office regarding the new LinkNYC Wi-Fi kiosks, which may be storing too much sensitive information, according to a reportby New York Magazine.

CityBridge, the group of companies behind the kiosks, requires users to submit their email addresses, and allow the company to monitor their browsing history and habits when using the Wi-Fi kiosks. According to its letter, the NYCLU is concerned about the "vast amount of private information retained by the LinkNYC system and the lack of robust language in the privacy policy protecting users against unwarranted government surveillance."

The privacy policy states that CityBridge will make "reasonable efforts" to delete "Personally Identifiable Information" after 12 months. The NYCLU argues that users who use the kiosk often during the year would be giving away vast amounts of personal data.

LinkNYC responded to the letter by stating, "New York City and CityBridge have created customer-first privacy protections to ensure our users' personal information stays that way — personal. We believe our privacy policy is the best way to protect New Yorkers and LinkNYC users while they safely and securely enjoy free super fast Wi-Fi across the five boroughs."