Seattle’s plans for 30 information kiosks downtown raise data privacy concerns

The Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) plans to install 30 digital kiosks powered by IKE Smart City to feature ads, display maps and to emit free Wi-Fi, according to a news report in The Stranger. The kiosks' ads would raise a projected $1 million a year for DSA and smaller Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) to pay for improvement initiatives in downtown Seattle.

Critics, however, are concerned that this plan lacks a robust data privacy policy, according to the report. ACLU Technology Policy Program Director Tee Sannon told The Stranger that DSA omitted important contradictory and «slightly horrifying» points from IKE's privacy policy.

«We should all be concerned about what happens to our data. We don't know what this company stands for. We don't know what they're actually doing with our information,» Sannon told the news outlet.

Among the privacy concerns are whether DSA plans to implement cameras on the kiosks and what will be done with the footage. IKE's privacy policy initially stated that a third-party partner ran the «photo booth» feature of the kiosks; however, after receiving questions from The Stranger, IKE claims its own software runs the photo booth without third-party involvement.

Another concern involves the security of the IKE kiosks' Wi-Fi feature. IKE claims to implement certain security features, like limiting information sharing with its third-party Wi-Fi provider, T-Mobile.

Source: Kiosk Marketplace