Civil right campaigners are up in arms against a monitoring technology that is being used by several shopping centres in the UK which allows them to track consumers using their mobile signals, according to the Guardian.
The technology enables shopping centres to keep tabs on visitors activities, including their duration of stay at the mall, their favourite hangout spots and other such activities.
On the other hand, shopping centres defend the system, saying it benefits both customers and retailers and insist that customers privacy is not being compromised as individuals are not identified, the newspaper reported.
The FootPath system being used in the UK, developed by Path Intelligence, has irked the privacy and civil liberties group like Big Brother Watch and others.
Nick Pickles of Big Brother Watch said people are right to be worried that their mobile phones can be turned into tracking devices very easily, without their permission or knowledge. "It is assumed that the shopping centre has the automatic right to track people’s mobile phones – to me that’s wrong," added Pickles.
The only way customers reportedly can escape not being noticed is to switch off their mobiles.
