World Privacy Forum

World Privacy Forum
The
One-Way-Mirror
Society
Privacy Implications
of the new
Digital Signage Networks
by Pam Dixon
January 27, 2010

Brief Summary of Report
New forms of sophisticated digital signage networks are being deployed widely by retailers and others
in both public and private spaces. From simple people-counting sensors mounted on doorways to
sophisticated facial recognition cameras mounted in flat video screens and end-cap displays, digital
signage technologies are gathering increasing amounts of detailed information about consumers, their
behaviors, and their characteristics.
These technologies are quickly becoming ubiquitous in the offline world, and there is little if any
disclosure to consumers that information about behavioral and personal characteristics is being
collected and analyzed to create highly targeted advertisements, among other things. In the most
sophisticated digital sign networks, for example, individuals watching a video screen will be shown
different information based on their age bracket, gender, or ethnicity.
While most consumers understand a need for security cameras, few expect that the video screen they
are watching, the kiosk they are typing on, or the game billboard they are interacting with is watching
them while gathering copious images and behavioral and demographic information. This is creating a
one-way-mirror society with no notice or opportunity for consumers to consent to being monitored in
retail, public, and other spaces or to consent to having their behavior analyzed for marketing and profit.
The privacy problems inherent in these networks are profound, and to date these issues have not been
adequately addressed by anyone. Digital signage networks, if left unaddressed, will very likely
comprise a new form of sophisticated marketing surveillance leading to abuses of the collected
information.
Summary of Recommendations
Principal preliminary recommendations discussed in the report include:
• Better notice and disclosure to consumers

• No one-sided industry self regulation
• No price or other unfair discrimination
• The full set of Fair Information Practices must apply for compiled information
• Notice given to consumers about subpoenas for their information
• Prohibitions on digital signage in bathrooms, health facilities, etc.
• More robust consumer choices regarding data capture and use from signage
• Special rules for collection and use of pictures and information about children
Background of Report
This report was originally prepared as background for the World Privacy Forum’s testimony at the
Federal Trade Commission’s Privacy Roundtable at the University of California, Berkeley.
About the World Privacy Forum
The World Privacy Forum is a non-profit public interest research and consumer education group. It
focuses on a range of privacy matters, including financial, medical, employment, and Internet privacy.
The World Privacy Forum was founded in 2003. www.worldprivacyforum.org.
The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.2
Table of Contents
I. Introduction. What is digital signage and why care about its privacy implications? ................... 5
Defining digital signage...................................................................................................................................... 6
Modern digital signage in action: the Castrol digital billboards ................................................................... 7
Digital Signage by the Numbers........................................................................................................................ 8
II. Overview of key digital signage capabilities in place today ..........................................................11
III. Lower and Medium Privacy Risk Consumer Tracking Technologies ....................................... 13
Heat maps and path tracking.......................................................................................................................... 13
Gaze tracking.................................................................................................................................................... 14
IV. High Privacy Risk Consumer Tracking Technologies ................................................................. 15
Facial Recognition ............................................................................................................................................ 15
Audience Surveillance and Measurement for Marketing ............................................................................ 15
Technologies that Measure Ethnicity, Age, and Gender ............................................................................... 16
Mobile Marketing and Customer Loyalty programs Linked to Digital Signage ....................................... 20
V. Consumer Responses to Digital Signage and Privacy Issues ........................................................ 23
VI. What are the specific privacy issues posed by digital signage networks / what risks exist?.... 25
Security Camera Footage: Repurposing footage for marketing and profit ............................................... 25
Lack of Transparency or Notice to consumer................................................................................................ 25
Lack of Consent, Opt-in, Opt-Out.................................................................................................................. 28
Identifiable data capture – anonymity ........................................................................................................... 28
Discrimination by Age, gender, and ethnicity................................................................................................ 28
Data retention issues ........................................................................................................................................ 29
Sensitive information ....................................................................................................................................... 29
Information Captured on Children and Teens .............................................................................................. 30
Combination of offline and online data and data from digital signage....................................................... 31
VII. What has been done by industry regarding privacy?................................................................ 31
VIII. Recommendations ....................................................................................................................... 31
IX. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 33
Appendix A: POPAI Recommended Code of Conduct for Consumer Tracking Methods............. 34
Credits:................................................................................................................................................... 38

Table of Figures
Figure 1. Castrol Oil personalized billboard in London ................................................................7

Figure 2. A heat map of consumer pathways through a store .......................................................13
Figure 3. Advanced video analytics capturing the faces of customers ......................................... 15
Figure 4. Whole Food’s digital signage with facial recognition software for gender analysis.....18
Figure 5. Hot Topic’s digital kiosk with a lens..................................................................................20
Figure 6. Customer notice of a recording device ..............................................................................26

I. Introduction. What is digital signage and why care about its privacy
implications?
The digital signage networks this report addresses are bi-directional. These networks give information
to viewers while they capture information from viewers and send it back to a home base. In the digital
signage industry, the new technologies are often compared to the interactive signs from the movie
Minority Report.1 In the movie, large-screen video billboards recognized individual consumers and
delivered personalized advertisements to each person. The movie version of the digital signs and
billboards relied on an iris scan to customize the ads. Today’s modern digital signs rely on advanced
video analytics and sophisticated cameras and sensors.
Digital signs typically output video, but that is only half of what they do. They can also be outfitted
with hidden facial recognition technology, pinhole cameras, and even infrared cameras. As people walk
by these signs, these signs capture consumer images, analyze them, and report the data back to their
operators and tell those operators a great deal. The screens are typically networked to a central location
and can be controlled remotely in real-time.
Digital signage is becoming ubiquitous while remaining secretive. The vast majority of people walking
in stores, near elevators and in other public and private spaces have no idea that the innocent-looking
flat screen TVs playing videos may be capturing their images and then dissecting and analyzing them
for marketing purposes or personalizing and targeting ads to them. Most people do not know that the
advertisements they see may be different than those displayed to another person in the store because of
their gender or age.
Digital signage raises a host of policy questions. How long will it take before the signs support
differential pricing based on sex, race, and other demographic characteristics? Are the signs in stores
recording children under 13? Who is able to access the footage: police, private litigants, tax enforcers?
What disclosure is given to consumers that this is happening? What is the proper role of consent in data
collection and use? Sadly, there are more questions than answers.
Digital signage is a privacy Chernobyl just waiting to happen, unless something is done quickly, and
proactively. When customers realize how pervasive and how invasive this digital sign surveillance is,
they will not like what they learn. Controls need to be put in place now, before this technology runs
amok and becomes an entrenched problem that is too systemic to root out.
Society has not adequately confronted the conflicts that arise over privacy in public spaces. Individuals
give up some privacy when in public, but that does not automatically mean that tracking everyone
everywhere is unobjectionable. The ability of modern technology to watch and record people
constantly while in public places enormous pressure on the old notion that there is no privacy in public.
Unrestrained surveillance and collection of personal data through digital signage force us to confront
the conflicts sooner than later.2
1
For more information, see IMDb Minority Report overview page <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181689/>.
2
See, e.g., Christopher Slobogin, Camera Surveillance of Public Places and the Right to Anonymity, 72 Mississippi Law
Journal 213, 233 (2002).

Defining digital signage
POPAI (Point of Purchase Advertising International),3 a large, well-established

global organization for marketing at retail and the digital signage industry, defines digital signage as:
“A network of digital displays that are centrally managed and addressable for targeted
information, entertainment, merchandising and advertising. Synonyms: dynamic signage, digital
signs, electronic signage, digital media advertising, digital signage network, in-store TV
network, captive audience network, narrowcasting network, out-of-home media network, digital
media network, advertising network.”4
Bill Gerba, a respected digital signage expert and CEO of WireSpring, a digital signage company, has
offered this definition of digital signage:
"Any kind of electronic display (such as a TV, computer monitor, or flat screen) that can be
remotely controlled over a computer network (like the Internet) and is placed into a venue to
show targeted information, content and advertisements."5
Although digital signage is not new by any means, in 2006 it reached a new maturity due to the
introduction of surveillance technologies that could capture, measure, and analyze how people were
responding to the signs, and even the demographic profile those responding to the signs. By 2008, start-
up companies had introduced competing analytical products based on these ideas for retailers, hotels,
colleges, and others interested in signs that both deliver and capture video. Digital sign networks
currently boast a high level of sophistication, and the technology is continuing to mature fairly rapidly.6
An Intel Solution Brief about digital signage stated:
Consumers watching advertisements in stores, airports or just about anywhere probably don’t
realize that some digital signage systems are helping advertisers gauge their interest. Equipped
with cameras and anonymous facial recognition software, these systems detect personal features
and determine whether consumers are paying attention to the display, just glancing at it or
ignoring it completely.
3
Point of Purchase Advertising International (POPAI) <http://popai.com/>. “POPAI is the only global, non-profit trade
association dedicated to the advancement of the marketing at retail advertising medium. Founded in 1936, POPAI is the
oldest association representing marketing at retail with 20 chapters worldwide, with headquarters in Metropolitan
Washington DC, and representing over 1,700 member companies internationally.”
4
Point of Purchase Advertising International (POPAI) <http://popai.com/>.
5
Bill Gerba, POPAI introduces Digital Signage Standards, October 28, 2005.
<http://www.wirespring.com/dynamic_digital_signage_and_interactive_kiosks_journal/articles/POPAI_introduces_Digital_
Signage_Standards-250.html >.
6
In addition to the current use of cameras in screens, new technology is emerging that will further mature the industry. See
for example, Siggraph Asia 2009 e-Tech Prototype, the BiDi Screen. This LCD screen is bi-directional and allows for 3-D
interaction using hand gestures. Photo-diodes are used as sensors. See
<http://web.media.met.edu/~mhirsch/bidi/index.html>.

The brief also stated:
With this capability, called “anonymous video analytics,” advertisers can also target specific
demographic groups by displaying ads that are compelling to the viewing audience. For
example, the systems can dynamically change their content if the audience is male, female, a
senior, or a family.7
The possibilities of the technology are mesmerizing, and it is already in use today. Companies have
already been running campaigns using the capacities of the advanced surveillance analytics of digital
signage to gather information about those interacting or passing by the signage and to tightly tailor ads
to individuals.
Modern digital signage in action: the Castrol digital billboards
On September 21, 2009, Castrol, a large oil company headquartered in the UK,8 launched a highly
personalized digital signage campaign in London. The campaign was “Right oil, right car.” The idea
was that Castrol would use advanced digital signage technologies to capture car information and them
make custom oil recommendations to each passing car via a roadside digital billboard. To do this,
cameras were positioned just before the billboards to capture the license plates of approaching cars.
The cars’ license plates were then matched in real time to the make and model of the car via the
company’s access to the UK Government’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency database.9 (The
DVLA database is the database of car registrant information in the similar to the state-level Division of
Motor Vehicles and its databases in the U.S.)
Within 2 seconds, as the drivers passed by the billboard, the billboard displayed the car’s registration
and a personalized oil recommendation. Each personalized ad was displayed for 7.5 seconds. (Figure
1).
7
Reaching the Right Audience: Intel technologies in digital signage systems help maximize advertising messaging and
return on investment. Intel Digital Signage Solution Brief,
<http://www.intel.com/design/intarch/platforms/digitalsignage/322038.pdf>.
8
Castrol, <http://www.castrol.com/castrol/castrolglobalhomeflash.do>.
9
UK Department for Transport, Driver Vehicle and Licensing Agency. <http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/>. See also DVLA
information regarding data release <http://www.dft.gov.uk/dvla/data.aspx>.

Figure 1
The Castrol personalized digital sign campaign in London. As cars approached the digital billboard,
images of motorists’ license plates were captured, matched to a database, then the billboard displayed
an ad tailored to that make and model of car.
The Castrol campaign itself only lasted four days – the UK’s DVLA launched an immediate
investigation into how the car registrations of millions of drivers were sold for use by a large
multinational oil firm. UK news reports on the issue revealed that Castrol used a third-party company
to obtain the data from the database.10
The Castrol campaign is illustrative of the capabilities of the technology, and some of the privacy
issues inherent in its use.
The digital signage industry is not unaware of privacy and other consequences of the technology, and
industry has begun to think about some of these issues. An industry-crafted Recommended Code of
Conduct for Consumer Tracking Methods (See Appendix A) describes some of the digital signage
technologies that are privacy-invasive and seeks to encourage avoidance of some of the worst practices.
But the industry by and large is not pressing for strong privacy protections in digital signage networks.
Digital Signage by the Numbers
Digital signage is not new, but it is considered to be the most promising newcomer in the digital
advertising ecosystem. Any business or institution that can hang a high-definition screen and use it to
10
Christopher Leake, Drivers’ details sold by DVLA are used in bizarre roadside adverts for Castrol, The Daily Mail, Sept.
27, 2009. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1216414/Now-drivers-details-sold-DVLA-used-bizarre-roadside-
adverts-Castrol.html>.

track customers is a potential candidate for digital signage. Gas stations,11 sports stadiums,12 subway
cars,13 elevators,14 bars,15 movie theatres,16 airports,17 grocery stores,18 retail stores,19 restaurants,20
college campuses,21 museums,22 casinos, 23 malls,24 hotels,25 and hospitals26 are among commonly seen
11
See Gas Station TV, <http://www.gstv.com/>. See also < http://www.gstv.com/network.php>.
12
Stephen Lawson, Cisco plans networked screens at Yankee Stadium, TechWorld, November 13, 2008.
<http://www.techworld.com.au/article/267090/cisco_plans_networked_screens_yankee_stadium>.
13
See TransitTV < http://www.transitv.com/>. See also
<http://www.transitv.com/audience_markets_demographics_impressions_young_hispanic_african_american_transit_tv.html
>.
14
See The Elevator Channel, <http://www.digitalview.com/casestudies/cs_elevate.php>.
15
See TapTV <http://www.tap.tv/bars_overview.php>.
16
See < http://www.norvision.com/cs_harkins.asp>.
17
See AirMedia < http://www.airmedia.net.cn/e/about.html>. See also: For The World's Largest Digital Signage Networks—
Look at China, <http://www.digitalsignageuniverse.com/marketing7.html>.
18
The Marketplace Station Introduces In-Store Digital Stations at Whole Foods
Market to help Marketers and Consumers, November 17th, 2008.
<http://www.themarketplacestation.com/files/news/51.pdf>.
19
See discussions of WalMart’s digital signage network; ex.: Bill Gerba, Walmart’s Cost-Supplement Initiative: Retailer
Becomes Ad Agency, July 22, 2009.
<http://www.wirespring.com/dynamic_digital_signage_and_interactive_kiosks_journal/articles/Walmart_s_Cost_Suppleme
nt_Initiative__Retailer_Becomes_Ad_Agency-731.html >. See also Jane Goodwin, WalMart Digital Signage Celebrated
Earth Month Last Year, March 20, 2009. <http://www.wirelessdigitalsigns.com/2009/03/20/walmart-digital-signage-
celebrated-earth-month-last-year/>.
20
First All digital restaurant sets new standards for QSR, POPAI, Sept. 25, 2009. <http://www.popai.com/>.
21
Digital Signage to Make Campus Safer, Greener. Univeristy of California Press Release, October 22,2009.
<http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/22181>.
22
OpenEye Develops Digital Wayfinding System for the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution
in Washington D.C. <
http://www.digitalsignageuniverse.com/marketing21.html>.
23
Cisco Announces Interactive Digital Signage Pilot with Harrah’s, Jan. 11, 2009.
<http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2010/prod_011110b.html?sid=BAC-JsSynd>. See also Cisco Digital Signage,
<http://www.cisco.com/web/solutions/dms/digital_signage.html>. Harrah’s Casinos is piloting a large digital sign project.
The Harrah’s signs could be integrated with back-end business analytics systems and databases, which would allow the
casino to offer deals based on individual consumers’interests
24
Southcentre Mall Deploys Digital Signage Powered By Omnivex Software, Dec. 17, 2009.
<http://www.digitalsignageexpo.net/DNNArticleMaster/DNNArticleView/tabid/78/smid/400/ArticleID/2379/reftab/66/t/So
uthcentre-Mall-Deploys-Digital-Signage-Powered-By-Omnivex-Software/Default.aspx>.
25
Bill Yackey, Four Winds outfits Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas with digital signage, Dec. 21 2009.
<http://digitalsignagetoday.com/article.php?id=23433&prc=383&page=150>.
26
See Catholic Healthcare West, <http://www.norvision.com/cs_chw.asp>.

venues for digital signs and digital sign networks. 27
The full maturation of digital signage as a viable and growing medium for marketing began in earnest
around 2005-06. A Forrester Research report captured the beginning of the cycle when it reported in
2006 that by 2011, 90 percent of U.S. retailers would have implemented some form of “customer-
facing, in-store digital media network.”28 In 2008, POPAI blogger Jeff Dickey wrote
Digital signage is on the verge of becoming a truly mass media that, within a decade, should
reach more people on a daily basis than traditional television, radio or newspapers. It is not
television and it is not the Internet. It is a little of both and a lot of neither.29
While the 90 percent figure from 2006 was likely too optimistic,30 the overall trajectory was correct.
In-store and out of home digital networks have indeed taken hold, and the upward trend is strong
worldwide. While there is no available study showing the degree of market penetration, by looking at
individual businesses and vendors it is possible to get a sense for the overall size and scope of the
industry.
In the U.S., Arbitron research indicates that about 155 million people have seen digital “out of home”
displays.31 (Digital out of home, or DOOH, is a term of art in the digital signage industry that generally
refers to signage in places other than a home). A UK-based media company, SymonDacon, has placed
20,000 digital signage installations worldwide.32 Scala, a company headquartered in near Philadelphia
in the U.S., states that its global digital signage reach is in excessive of 300,000 screens worldwide.33 In
100 U.S. malls, a company called Adspace creates campaigns on a network of 1,400 digital screens.34
TransitTV operates more than 8,400 screens in buses and trains worldwide.35 Quividi, a company that
27
Joab Jackson, IT Firms Promote Interactive Digital Signs at Retail Show, PC World, Jan. 14, 2010.
<http://www.pcworld.com/printable/article/id,186959/printable.html>.
28
How Digital Media Transform In-Store Marketing, Forrester Research, 26 April 2006. Nikki Baird, with Carrie Johnson,
Sean Meye and Brian Tesch. See also In-Store Digital Media: How to Reestablish Retail’s Role as a Mass Consumer
Medium. Bill Collins, Dorothy Allan, Decision Point Media Insight.
29
Jeff Dickey, The Evolution of a New Media, July 10, 2008.
POPAI <http://www.popaidigitalblog.com/blog/index.html>.
30
It is difficult to accurately determine exact percentages of penetration. But, for example, In 2008, about 25 percent of
retailers were using camera-enabled traffic counting technology, one component part of some digital signage systems. See
Deena M. Amato-McCoy, Stepping it Up: Traffic-Counting Technology Improves Marketing, Sales, Chain Store Age, Vol.
84, No. 5, May 2008.
31
<http://www.pcworld.com/printable/article/id,186959/printable.html>.
32
Symon Dacon launch AV partner program to promote intelligent digital signage, AV Magazine, January 14, 2010
<http://www.avinteractive.co.uk/news/search/977526/Symon-Dacon-launch-AV-partner-program-promote-intelligent-
digital-signage/>. See also Symon Dacon <http://www.symon.com/solutions.shtml> and <http://www.symon.com/>.
33
See Scala, About Us, <http://www.scala.com/about>.
34
Adspace launches Trend Alert messages on mall DOOH screens, Oct. 7, 2009. Digital Signage Today,
<http://www.digitalsignagetoday.com/article.php?id=23082 >.
35
David Barbara, Digital out-of-home advertising on the rise in '10, Digital Marketing Observations, November 13, 2009.

measures audience response to digital signs, states that the number of consumers that have looked at
digital signs that contain its proprietary technology is 120 million people.36
Digital signage revenue is forecast to grow at a compound rate of about 20 percent to 2016.37 The basis
for the forecast rests in a combination of research showing that a preponderance of consumers’
purchasing decisions – especially brand decisions – are made after they are physically in a store or
retail location. “[C]onsumers make about 70 percent of their brand decisions once they are in-store,
opening a window for grocers and manufacturers to target shoppers and they make their way through
the aisles.”38
II. Overview of key digital signage capabilities in place today
The best way to understand the capabilities of digital signage today and how it is being used is to see
the digital signage industry’s newly minted Recommended Code of Conduct for Consumer Tracking
Methods (See Appendix A for complete document). This document on consumer tracking methods in
digital signage was written and agreed upon entirely by industry members, without any participation by
consumer representatives. The document reflects the advances in technology in this area and where the
possibilities for abuse lay. The opening of the document reads:
“Technological advances have made it effortless and inexpensive to track consumers in stores,
through surveillance or other types of camera or recording media. On the one hand, there is
huge demand to gather shopper insights in order to profitably market the right products to the
investing consumer and provide a hassle-free shopping experience. On the other hand, the
ability to record and track a customer’s every move through the store, identify customers
facially and demographically, and pinpoint where ad what customers are looking at, picking up,
and putting into their shopping carts through Observed Tracking Data (OTD) raises privacy
issues and sends shivers down the spine of even the boldest marketer.”39 (emphasis added)
In the best practices document, a set of digital signage technologies that raise privacy issues are
discussed and categorized. It is not just digital signs themselves that are noted, but the entire technical
“ecosystem” of digital signage: the tracking systems, cameras, and other surveillance mechanisms that
go along with the digital signage network. The systems are those that are in place and in use today.40
36
“120 million people counted in the VidiCenter: the foundation of our expertise.” Quvidi home page,
http://www.quividi.com.
37
Digital Signage Display Revenue to Grow at 20 Percent CAGR to 2016, Digital Signage Expo, July 11, 2009.
<http://www.digitalsignageexpo.net/DNNArticleMaster/DNNArticleView/tabid/78/smid/400/ArticleID/1430/reftab/71/t/Di
gital-Signage-Display-Revenue-to-Grow-at-20-Percent-CAGR-to-2016/Default.aspx >.
38
CMM’s retail TV Network Targets Southern California’s Hispanic Consumers...Digital Signs Deliver In-Store
Communications to Supermarket Shoppers. April 9, 2009,
<http://www.popai.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78:cmms-retail-tv-network-targets-southern-
californias-hispanic-consumers-digital-signs-deliver-in-store-communications-to-supermarket-shoppers&catid=29:popai-
member-news&Itemid=76>.
39
Best Practices: Recommended Code of Conduct for Consumer Tracking Methods, POPAI. This document is contained in
full in Appendix A of this report.
40
A good early discussion of digital signage network tracking is: Bill Gerba, Proven Methods for Tracking Your At-retail
Media Network, June 3, 2006.

Digital signage and media expert Laura Davis-Taylor discusses three primary ways that retailers use to
track customers:
• Simple traffic counters, such as laser beams.

• Video-based recognition systems that count the number of people who have walked by a space,
and measure how long they pause in a space (dwell time).
• Pathway tracking technologies that attach a unique ID number to each customer entering a store
and then track that customer. The visit log of that individual can then be used to create a “heat
map” or pathway map of their activities in the store.
• A fourth method has been developed recently, dubbed “automated tracking and reporting.” This
technique uses cameras and facial recognition software to capture and determine a customer’s
age, ethnicity, and gender.41
It is the last two capabilities that raise the most concerns: tracking individual customers can capturing
age, gender, and ethnicity. Additionally, video signage technologies are being increasingly tied to
identifiable mobile devices and loyalty card programs, which adds to the capabilities to track and
identify individual customers.
The Code of Conduct for Consumer Tracking ranks the universe of consumer tracking methods in a
hierarchy of low risk to high-risk methods. (OTD stands for Observed Tracking Data.)
Here is the most current version of the hierarchy (January, 2010.)
2.1 - Low Risk OTD Collection Methods
• Infrared or laser beam motion detectors

• Sonar and other non-recording, sound-based motion detectors
• Overhead path tracking systems that are capable of generating on-premise, aggregate "heat
maps" of consumer presence, but are not able to track or record individual consumer paths.
2.2 - Medium Risk OTD Collection Methods
• Overhead camera-based path tracking systems or "gaze tracking" systems that are able to track
and/or record individual consumer paths, but do not uniquely or individually identify
consumers.
• Sensor-laden shopping carts that track and/or record individual consumer paths, but are not able
to uniquely or individually identify consumers.
• RFID or other wired or wireless tracking devices knowingly worn or carried by consumer, or
used on shopping carts and baskets to track consumer behavior, but are not able to personally or
uniquely identify consumers.
<http://www.wirespring.com/dynamic_digital_signage_and_interactive_kiosks_journal/articles/Proven_methods_for_tracki
ng_your_at_retail_media_network-277.html >. This article mentions privacy as a consideration in its closing paragraphs and
accurately anticipated the privacy issues that were to emerge.
41
Measurement and Analysis for Digital Signage, A Guide for Digital Signage Today and Retail Customer Experience, p. 5.
<http://leadgen.networldalliance.com/downloads/white_papers/BroadSignMeasurementandAnalysisGuideFinal.pdf>.

• Any method where information can be used to collect demographic or psychographic
information, but cannot be used to individually or uniquely identify consumers.
2.3 High Risk OTD Collection Methods
• Personally identifiable OTD collection via mobile phone or mobile computing device via
wireless (cellular, Bluetooth, etc.) connection.
• Any method capable of identifying consumers based on past purchases, loyalty card programs,
or other behavioral patterns collected by OTD collection methods.
• Any camera-based OTD system that collects and stores visual data.
• Any method used to personally or uniquely identify consumers, when combined with loyalty
program data, or 3rd party marketing data.
The next sections of this report offer a more detailed discussion of these technologies and examples of
the technologies in active use.42
III. Lower and Medium Privacy Risk Consumer Tracking Technologies
Heat maps and path tracking
Heat maps and path tracking technologies essentially generate maps of where consumers spend the
most time standing and walking in stores. (Figure 2). One product, PathTracker, uses RFID chips for
large store tracking, and video tracking technology for smaller stores or sub-areas within stores.
“PathTracker is an electronic tracking system that records the coordinates of shoppers from the
time the enter the store until checkout.....to protect the privacy of shoppers, the identities of the
shoppers remain anonymous.”43
42
For an excellent industry discussion of aspects of privacy in digital signage, see Bill Gerba, Digital Signage Networks
Must Guarantee Viewer Privacy, August 1, 2008.
<http://www.wirespring.com/dynamic_digital_signage_and_interactive_kiosks_journal/articles/Digital_signage_networks_
must_guarantee_viewer_privacy-569.html >.
43
Track Shoppers to Greater Profits, PathTracker for Retailers. <http://www.sorensen-associates.com>.

Figure 2
A heat map of customers’ movements in a retail store; the red areas show the sites where consumers
spent the most time.
A growing body of research exists about supermarket shopping tracking and shopper’s pathways
through stores.44 The technology has a number of variations, but the theme is generally the same.
Gaze tracking
Gaze tracking in the context of digital signage is typically used in package and shelf testing.45 One
market research company noted that sample marketing questions gaze tracking can answer can include:
• Do shoppers see the product on the shelf?

• How many of the products on the shelf are noticed?
• How much attention does the product get compared to competing products?
• How quickly is the product able to attract attention?
• How long time does it take for shoppers to find a product that they are actively looking for?
• For how long is the product considered?
• How many times do shoppers look at the product?46
Gaze tracking technology may be based on a single gaze tracking camera,47 or it may be used in
conjunction with other cameras and technologies.
44
Larson, Bradlow, Fader. An Exploratory Look at Supermarket Shopping Paths, April 2005. Wharton School, University
of Pennsylvania.
45
Tobii, <http://www.tobii.com/market_research_usability/research_fields/retail_shopping/white_papers.aspx >.
46
<http://www.tobii.com/market_research_usability/research_fields/retail_shopping/example_research.aspx>.
47
<http://www.irc.atr.jp/en/research_project/human_beh_ana/gaze_det/>.

IV. High Privacy Risk Consumer Tracking Technologies
Facial Recognition
Facial recognition technology was initially developed for security purposes, but it has found a new use
in digital signage for marketing and ad targeting purposes. Essentially, the process is that a camera
captures an individual’s image, then checks it against algorithms that analyze at least 80 facial
characteristics, such as distance between eyes, length of the face, width of the face, depth of eye
sockets, and so forth. 48 Layers of algorithms are used to crunch the facial information into
determinations about a person’s age bracket, gender, and ethnicity. The next efforts are going toward
coding the facial expressions of shoppers to “capture their emotional reactions to in-store
environments.”49
The video stream from the camera capturing the facial data is sent to a computer with a face-tracking
engine that registers the number of viewers in front of the screen and can even determine whose eyes
actually looked at the screen. Some software packages can also determine the gender, age, and ethnicity
of the viewers. 50
Audience Surveillance and Measurement for Marketing
One of the primary selling points for those wanting to deploy digital signage is that the screens are not
just a one-way technology going from screen to consumer. The most advanced digital signage
installations have screens concealing a host of technologies that gather information from the rooms
they are placed in and the people who come within view of the screens, and then respond accordingly,
often instantly. Digital signs can record the customers near them, monitor room temperature, check
carbon dioxide levels, and more. For example, it is now an unremarkable feature for a digital signage
installation to show ads targeted to the specific gender or age of a person looking at the screen as the
person is standing in front of it.
To accomplish this, digital signs are equipped with sensors and/or cameras or webcams built directly
into the screen,51 that can capture and record large amounts of information about who is looking at the
sign, for how long, and at what time of the day. Then sophisticated video analytics create a
demographic profile of the gender, age, and ethnicity among other characteristics. In some cases,
multiple cameras are used, including cameras outside the screens. As seen in Figure 3, cameras can be
tucked inconspicuously into end cap displays, on ceilings, and elsewhere.
48
Manolo Almagro, Quividi’s Digital Sex Change Feature, DailyDOOH , March 2, 2009
<http://www.dailydooh.com/archives/8887/print/>.
49
Raymond R. Burke, Retail Shoppability: A Measure of the Worlds Best Stores, 2005. p. 13. Originally published in
Future Retail Now: 40 of the World’s Best Stores, Retail Industry Leaders Association.
<http://kelley.iu.edu/features/archive/fall_2007/shoppability2.html>.
50
Bill Yackey, The Push for Digital Signage Metrics, June 9, 2008, Digital Signage Today,
<http://www.digitalsigngaetoday.com/article.php?id=20004>.
51
Vendco Introduces Screens with Integrated Audience Measurement, July 30, 2008,
<http://www.digitalsignagetoday.com/article.php?id=20284>.

Figure 3
Video analysis technologies exist in many retail and other environments. People looking at digital
screens can have their images captured by a sensor or camera in or near the screen, then be analyzed
by facial recognition technology. The cameras may be miniature and difficult to detect.
It is important to remember that digital signage networks can involve an entire video architecture, one
that includes existing security cameras. The audience measurement ecosystem may also use other
shopper measurement systems in addition to the digital signage.52
Technologies that Measure Ethnicity, Age, and Gender
While it may come as a substantial surprise to consumers, it is a current business practice to use
advanced video analysis technologies to determine a consumer’s age, gender, and sometimes ethnicity
52
See for example ShopperGauge. “ShopperGauge is an in-store monitoring system that delivers continuous reporting of
REAL shopper behavior.” Its website states: “24/7 digital monitoring by a strategically installed camera measures body
language. Interpretive software reports traffic, dwell time, and shopper engagement with the display or shelf.” The web site
notes that the shopper data is live. ShopperGauge, < http://www.shoppergauge.com/how-shoppergauge-works>.

to target ads and marketing directly to a particular customer. This technology is not new, but it did
reach a maturation point in 2008/2009. Often called advanced audience measurement features, or
advanced video analytics, the technology is used to determine a customer’s ethnicity, gender, and age
using facial recognition software and other techniques.53 The technology has reportedly reached about a
90 percent accuracy rate.
Initially, the technology began as simple gaze tracking, but expanded into the demographic uses.54
Cognovision, one company selling this technology, states in its materials that it measures five areas of
consumer behavior and characteristics:
• Actual Impressions - The number of people who look at your displays

• Length of Impressions - How long people look for
• Potential Audience Size - The number of people who walk by
• Dwell Time - How long people stay near your displays
• Anonymous Demographics - Demographics of your audience (gender and age bracket)55
The point of creating demographic profiles is twofold: one, to determine how many people are
watching the ad on the digital signage, and what ages, genders, and ethnicities they are; and two, to
target the advertising based on that information.56
The ultimate goal is to have digital signs that change content based on the characteristics of the people
standing right in front of the display:
“[A]dvanced consumer demographics...will enable dynamic message selection on the digital

sign and the ability to vary content based on viewer characteristics including gender, ethnicity,
and banded age group.”57
One example of this nexus can be seen in TargetScent, a kiosk-style “gender aware” fragrance
dispenser. The kiosk/dispenser uses a small computer running Quividi facial recognition software. A
camera in the display detects human faces in the vicinity of the display, estimates the corresponding
gender of prospective customers and sends that information to the fragrance dispenser, choosing one of
53
See for example audience measurement products by Quividi <http://www.quividi.com/>, Cognovision
<http://www.cognovision.com/solutions.php>, Tru-Media <http://www.tru-media.com/>, and Wututu
<http://www.wututu.com/en/>.
54
Laura Davis-Taylor, The In Store Shopper Profiling Debate, May 20, 2008, POPAI
<http://www.popaidigitalblog.com/blog/articles/The_in_store_shopper_profiling_debate-439.html>.
55
Cognovision Solutions page, <http://www.cognovision.com/solutions.php>.
56
Steve Arel, Video Analytics for Digital Signage Deployments, White Paper, <http://DigitalSignageToday.com>, 2009.
White Paper sponsored by Intel. “Various forms of analytics exist, breaking down consumer activity and behavior. The
video version gives businesses a more detailed look at individuals who come in contact with digital signage. Through
cameras installed on and integrated into monitors, software can show everything from the length of time someone watches
an ad or message to exactly who watches, and correlate the effectiveness of those spots.”
57
NRF: STRATACACHE debuting audience measurement tech, Jan. 13, 2009,
<digitalsignagetoday.con/article.php?id=21409>.

four fragrances based on the facial analysis. The units were introduced in 2009 in Europe.58
A more generalized example of this can be seen in the Whole Foods installation of the Marketplace
Station digital signage network in Chicago in the U.S. and in Canada. A 2008 press release about the
program, which rolled out first in Canada, described how the digital signage stations would benefit
consumers with product information and food and lifestyle ideas. There is also a one-sentence
description in the press release that hints at the fact the signs are equipped with advanced video
analytics:
A software application will also be in place to comprehend viewer metrics of each digital
station, for hands-on tactical management of campaigns from start to finish. 59
In May of 2009, the Marketplace Station digital signage network was deployed in the Chicago Whole
Foods store. Beginning in March 2010, a press release notes that a new kiosk system will be added and
consumer analytics will be captured. The new digital program is described as being capable of deriving
data from actual audience viewership captured through an anonymous analytics sensor. The press
release goes on to state that they will be reporting on the “gender of impressions.”60 Past analytics
reports on the company’s web site reveal that gender is indeed being analyzed at the Whole Foods
stores through the facial recognition capabilities of its digital signage network.
The Whole Food’s privacy policy makes no mention of its digital signage network. The Marketplace
Station made no mention of its facial recognition software in its privacy policy. There is though, a
YouTube video about Intel chips that highlights the Whole Foods/Marketplace Station digital signage
installation, complete with an explanation of how the advanced analytics captures the gender of people
looking at the signs. The video even shows a person shopping at the Whole Foods store looking up at
the screens and being analyzed for demographic characteristics.61 (Figure 3). Only the individual who
looks at the video will have any real idea what is happening with Whole Foods digital signage behind
the scenes.
58
Quividi Press Release, Presensia and Quividi Invent the First Gender-Aware Fragrance Dispenser, January 7, 2009.
<http://www.quuividi.com/news/090107/pressreleases>.
59
The Marketplace Station Introduces In-Store Digital Stations at Whole Foods
Market to help Marketers and Consumers, November 17th, 2008.
<http://www.themarketplacestation.com/files/news/51.pdf>.
60
30 Retailers One Digital Network, January 21, 2010. <http://www.themarketplacestation.com/files/news/55.pdf>.
61
Digital Signage Innovations- Intel Technology in Digital Signage. July 22, 2009. YouTube,
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibAFvT_Vr7s>.

Figure 4.
A screen shot of a YouTube video showing how the Whole Food’s Marketplace Station digital signs are
using facial recognition technology to analyze the gender of customers shopping at certain stores.
One of the issues this digital signage installation brings up is that of the digital signage industry’s view
of privacy and image capture and storage. One company that sells advanced video analytics,
62
TruMedia, has adopted a self-imposed standard that no images or “personally identifying
information” will be stored without consumer consent. This is a frequently encountered refrain; that
consumer privacy is protected because images are not stored by a particular digital signage system.63
TruMedia states in its privacy policy:
Images from our sensors are processed and converted in real-time into counts (how many) and
durations (how long). Using complex proprietary algorithms these counts are further assigned to
specific demographic categories such as gender and age-group. No images are ever and will
ever be stored for use, review or sharing with any private or governmental body.64
Here, the line is drawn at the retention or storage of the data. But the data is still captured, analyzed,
62
<http://www.themarketplacestation.com/files/analytics/analytics-january-2009.pdf>.
63
See for example: NRF: STRATACACHE debuting audience measurement tech, Jan. 13, 2009,
<digitalsignagetoday.con/article.php?id=21409>
64
TruMedia Audience Measurement Systems Privacy Policy, <http://www.tru-media.com/inside.asp?ID=18>.

and used without consumer consent and very likely without meaningful con sumer knowledge.
Another argument often encountered is that images are not recorded, therefore privacy is protected:
CognoVision’s Anonymous Impression Metric (AIM) technology uses face-detection and

people counting technology to measure the effectiveness of digital signage, and enables real-
time content targeting based on audience characteristics, allowing for truly measured and
targeted delivery of media. The system has been designed to completely respect privacy – no
personally identifiable information is ever collected, and no images are ever recorded. 65
The Marketplace Station is using CognoVision’s AIM technology, which means that the images of
shoppers are not supposed to be recorded. However, just because the companies have decided that the
lack of storage or recording of the data is equivalent to privacy does not mean that consumers should be
left in the dark about such technologies. And it does not mean that customers in these stores should be
subject to this activity without consenting to it. There is tremendous uncertainty about where these
cameras are deployed in screens, if the images are being recorded, what information is actually kept,
and how the consumer consent process is supposed to work. Of course, current limits on data collection
and retention are subject to change without notice to the public. Indeed, entire systems operate without
any notice to the public.
Some in the industry have raised privacy concerns about the deployment of these technologies, noting
that simple gaze tracking was not as much of an issue as the demographic profiling and targeting.
The technologies that enable this are originally intended for shopper gaze tracking, allowing
retailers to understand how many people walked by a screen or display, how many looked, at
what and for how long. This is exciting, as it can open the door to real-time analytics that allow
us to respond according to what works — and what doesn’t.
The issue at hand is that some of the firms behind this technology can also “flip the switch” to
track shopper demographics such as age, ethnicity and sex. Conceptually, the idea is to “auto
serve” content geared towards the type of shopper walking by and ensure that it’s as relevant as
possible.66
Mobile Marketing and Customer Loyalty programs Linked to Digital Signage
Advanced digital signage networks can be tied to loyalty programs. One early method of tracking
customer behavior in stores was to use tracking devices attached to shopping carts and then linked to
customer loyalty programs.
Several companies have developed tracking systems that use RFID, GPS, or infrared sensors
attached to shopping carts, hand baskets, or hand-held shopping devices to track the customer’s
path through the store. These systems can provide reliable information on the shopping process,
65
Dynasign Integrates CognoVision Audience Measurement Technology, Feb. 24, 2009. <http://Digital
SignageToday.com/article.php?id=21733>.
66
Laura Davis-Taylor, The In-Store Profiling Debate, May 20, 2008.

and the data are easily linked to individual-level customer transaction and loyalty information.67
But this customer tracking model has a significant drawback: if a shopper does not use a cart or a
tracking device, then the consumer tracking fails. A more modern approach is to use digital signage as a
bridge between the retailer and consumer in an opt-in program. One example of this model is Hot
Topic, a retailer, that has deployed 1,500 in-store kiosks and digital signs which are linked with the
store’s customer loyalty program.68
Figure 5
Hot Topic’s digital signage kiosks that link to its customer loyalty program. The kiosks contain a lens
that looks back at customers.
To sign up for the Hot Topic program, customers interact with the kiosks and type in their name, date of
birth, email address, mobile phone provider, mobile phone number, address, gender, and other details.
The kiosk screens themselves do not appear to link to a privacy policy or the Terms and Conditions of
the loyalty program. Instead, the kiosks have a FAQ section, but not a detailed privacy notice. The
kiosks have a camera and lens embedded in them, (Figure 3) but it is not disclosed in any notice, nor is
67
Raymond R. Burke, The Third Wave of Marketing Intelligence, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, p. 112.
68
<http://www.pcworld.com/printable/article/id,186959/printable.html>. See also Hot Topic Implements NCR Netkey Self-
Service , Jan. 12, 2010. <http://www.digitialsignageexpo.net/DNNArticleView/tab...ents-NCR-Netkey-Self-Service-Kiosks-
and Digital-Signage/Default.aspx>.

what the cameras are potentially capturing, recording and/or analyzing discussed in a written policy.
Nevertheless, the Hot Topic web site Terms and Conditions contains the following paragraph:
REGISTRATION: To participate in , you must create a member account ("account") by

registering your information with Hot Topic in a Hot Topic store, on our kiosks, or on the Web
Site. You must have a valid email address to receive offers and other Program benefits. One
email address per account. It is your responsibility to read the full Terms and Conditions at
the time that you register. By providing the required information to Hot Topic and
creating an account, you're confirming that you've read and agreed to the Terms and
Conditions. (emphasis added)
One of the substantive issues with the majority of digital signage in place today is a lack of meaningful
notice. Hot Topic terms and conditions “require” a consumer to read the full Terms and Conditions at
the time of registration at an in-store kiosk, but it is well known that consumers rarely read notices.
Indeed, a kiosk operator can easily check to see if the notice was read, but operators are not likely to do
so because they would rather rely on the fiction that consumers have knowledgably consented.
As seen in the Hot Topic loyalty program, a substantial linkage can exist between the digital signage
industry and mobile advertising for cell phones. Current examples are primarily opt-in, with customers
taking the first step to give a retailer or business a mobile number or an email.
Another example of how this can work is Hungry Howie’s pizza in Clearwater Florida. Digital signs sit
in the restaurant location. The Hungry Howie’s digital signage does not report back via cameras,
instead, the signage focus is on interactively acquiring customer’s mobile phone numbers via a touch
screen. After a customer enters a mobile phone number on the screen, customers then receive a text
message on their mobile phones. Upon a second opt-in, customers then receive coupons and other SMS
texts via their mobile phones.69 Customers are given the opportunity to opt out of the program.
Another digital signage-mobile example may be found in the campaigns of the company MegaPhone.
MegaPhone uses trucks to host large portable digital billboards. Various interactive games run on the
digital signage, which require mobile phone interaction to play. 70
The company states in a brochure discussing case studies:
Megaphone tracks all interactions and outcomes while aggregating data for each unique caller.
Based on GPS call location, time stamping, cal length , buttons pressed, bounces, sharing, word
of mouth, drop triggers, and mobile channel content engagement we can define a psychographic
69
Case study: Hungry Howie’s Pizza, Inc., July 31, 2009, Digital Signage Expo.net, <
http://www.digitalsignageexpo.net/DNNArticleMaster/DNNArticleView/tabid/78/smid/1043/ArticleID/1667/reftab/70/Defa
ult.aspx>. For a video example of how the opt in and mobile response works and looks, see <
http://www.sundropsystems.com/Products/loyaltxt.aspx#>.
70
MegaPhone describes itself as “Making Digital Signage Interactive” on its home page. “MegaPhone is a Phonecall-
Controlled, Real-Time, Multi-Player Collaborative Gaming Platform for Big Screens in Public Spaces.” MegaPhone home
page, <http://www.playmegaphone.com/>.

profile of your consumer.71
At the 2008 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans, Adidas ran a campaign with MegaPhone. A portable
digital sign on a large truck hosted a game called “3 stripe throw down.” To play, people called a phone
number shown on the game billboard. According to the case study written by Megaphone, the objective
of the campaign was to add the players to a mobile mailing list, and to drive foot traffic to local Adidas
stores. Callers to the Adidas game receive a message with walking instruction to the Adidas store
closest to the game location. The callers also have the opportunity to opt in to an Adidas SMS mailing
list for special events during the all-star weekend. The Philadelphia 76ers ran a similar campaign.
While the campaign allowed for choice, a significant question to ask is if the people who called the
phone number in order to play the digital billboard game had any idea that a third party was tracking
their gaming interactions, aggregating data for each unique caller, and “defining a psychographic
profile” of them. It is unclear how long consumer data was stored, and it is also unclear if the data was
mingled with other identifiable consumer information.
MegaPhone did not have a privacy policy posted that described its privacy and data practices. The
Adidas privacy policy addressed SMS programs in broad terms.72 From a consumer perspective, it
would have been a challenge for a consumer to meaningfully understand from the information available
to them how their data would be handled and passed along.
V. Consumer Responses to Digital Signage and Privacy Issues

Few consumers are aware that watching a video screen or interacting with a kiosk may mean they are
being recorded and having their behavior, gender, age, and ethnicity analyzed. As a result, there has not
been a robust public discussion of how consumers feel about these technologies.
However, some academic literature does exist. In a 2008 University of Rotterdam study, focus groups
of mixed gender with an average age of 28.6 years old were queried about a digital signage use case
that allowed behavioral targeting of ads using an automated recommendation system in a similar to
Amazon.com’s and other online retailers, but tailored for digital signage technologies deployed in
brick-and-mortar retail settings. The focus groups, which drew from the EU and from the US, came up
with multiple objections relating to privacy, including the following problems with the digital signage
recommendation system:
• General privacy problems

• Showing private information
• Information of other people on the screen
• Don’t be too personal
• Don’t link buyer behavior and advertising73
71
MegaPhone Case Studies, <http://www.playmegaphone.com/documents/MegaPhone_InfoDocs.pdf>. See also video of
the Adidas game, YouTube, MegaPhone, Sept. 8, 2008 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29RSh_4A16s>.
72
Adidas privacy policy, <http://www.adidas.com/us/shared/legal.asp#Link8>.
73
Imran Ashraf, RFID as a marketing tool, a strategic and economic analysis. Combining RFID, Digital Signage, and
Recommender Systems., 21 Feb. 2008, Dissertation, Rotterdam School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The
Netherlands. Chart, p. 65. See also generally Chapter 5.
The research concluded that regarding digital signage, the “biggest objections seem to be related to
privacy and unnecessary or wrong recommendations.”74 The strongest consumer objections to the
digital signage recommendation screens came when a recommendation on the digital signage screen
showed the following items, roughly in order of the strength of objections from the focus groups:
• A picture of the person

• The person’s name
• Previous purchases
• The product the consumer had in their hand
• Product recommendations based on a stored profile.75
Consumers had substantially fewer privacy issues with the screens showing a top 10 list of best-selling
products, similar products based on what was in their basket, or with product recommendations based
on the average customer comparable to that consumer.76
There was no difference in acceptance of the digital signage recommendation system between a
younger audience (below 30) and an older audience (above 30). The research also found that even
though the digital signage use case that was presented to the focus groups used “non-identifying
information,” the group perceived it as privacy-invasive, and wanted to be in control. One suggestion
flowing from the research was to allow digital signage recommendation screens to be consumer
initiated, versus automatically targeted. 77
These findings were echoed by a 2009 University of California, Berkeley - University of Pennsylvania,
Annenberg School for Communication study that found that a majority of Americans – 68 percent --
strongly rejected behavioral tracking online . The UC Berkeley - Annenberg study is in line with the
Rotterdam study in finding that young consumers cared about privacy.
In the UC Berkeley - Annenberg study, 86 percent of young adults said they did not want tailored
advertising if it resulted from following behavior on website other than one they are visiting. Fully 90
percent rejected tracking if it is the result of following what they do offline.78
The University of Rotterdam findings seen in light of the high rejection rate for offline tracking suggest
digital signage systems that track consumer behavior may be perceived as even more invasive than
74
Id.
75
Some digital signage installations have already experimented with showing people’s pictures on screens that are publicly
viewable. For example, Permanent TSB, a retail bank in Dublin, Ireland, used a digital signage installation that took pictures
of people passing by the bank and superimposed the person’s picture on a credit card graphic that was then shown on the
digital signage in the bank window. Is Demonstrating Big Brother Really Necessary? Adrian J. Cotterill, June 14, 2008,
<http://www.dailydooh.com/archives/2063>. The article contains an image of the digital signage installation.
76
Id, 78, Chart 5.2.3.6: Privacy Aspects, and Figure 17.
77
Id, 127.
78
Turow, Hoofnagle, King et al. Contrary to what marketers say, Americans Reject Tailored Advertising and three
activities that enable it. September, 2009. <http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1478214 >.

online tracking delivered via the web. When a person is standing in front of a digital screen in person,
what consumers are comfortable with appears to shift toward a preference for more privacy controls,
rather than less. The opt-in / opt-out debate will likely have a different outcome in the digital signage
context given the potentially stronger consumer attitudes toward privacy protection in this area.
VI. What are the specific privacy issues posed by digital signage networks / what
risks exist?
Specific and substantive policy issues and privacy risks exist in modern digital signage networks. This
section summarizes those issues and risks.
Security Camera Footage: Repurposing footage for marketing and profit
Perhaps the most egregious repurposing of data is the use of security camera footage for store
marketing purposes. From the industry literature, this appears to be an established business practice at
this point. It is one that needs to be examined closely.
For example, researchers who specialize in studying shopping patterns, in describing their process of
gaining shopper insight, include the option of using existing security cameras to collect shopping
research data on consumers:
“The research is usually implemented by setting up one or more video cameras, recording
consumer shopping activity for several hours a day, and then coding behavior at a later time,
either with human-research assistant or machine – vision tools. Existing security cameras may
be used to collect the data if they provide adequate visual coverage and fidelity.” (emphasis
added) 79
The POPAI Recommended Code of Conduct for Tracking Consumers specifically mentions this issue:
• Using video or image data from surveillance, security, or loss-prevention systems may violate
Federal, State and/or local laws, and is generally not recommended. If this practice is allowed
by law, marketers must use separate computer systems and storage devices from those used to
store the security/surveillance data. These computer systems and storage devices must be
password protected with different passwords used than for the security/surveillance systems.
(See Appendix A of this report for document.)
There is a lack of transparency around the use of surveillance footage for marketing purposes.
Lack of Transparency or Notice to consumer
Transparency and Consumer notice in the digital signage ecosystem is woefully lacking.
First, the collection of consumer images can be extremely difficult to detect, if not nearly impossible.
Digital signage does not usually come with a notice to the consumer that they are being recorded when
79
Raymond R. Burke, Retail Shoppability: A Measure of the Worlds Best Stores, 2005. p. 13. Originally published in
Future Retail Now: 40 of the World’s Best Stores, Retail Industry Leaders Association.
<http://kelley.iu.edu/features/archive/fall_2007/shoppability2.html>.

they look at the screen. Digital signage does not usually come with any notice that facial recognition
technology is being used to target ads to the consumer based on gender, age, and possibly ethnicity.
And while some digital signage has obvious cameras affixed to it, other signage uses pinhole cameras
that are extremely difficult to detect.
One manufacturer touted its pinhole cameras, one of which was shown tucked into an end-cap display
in a way that would not be noticeable to most consumers:
At the heart of the platform will be a custom-designed DSP chip that will receive incoming
visual data from an attached pinhole camera. The screen display unit will then be able to log
viewer statistics based on their age, gender, and ethnicity and will be capable of reacting to
these details based on the demands of the site display.80
Second, even when consumers are expressly asked to interact with digital signage and give information
(such as calling a mobile number to play a game or to sign up for a coupon) the amount of meaningful
information a consumer receives about the collection and use of the data is generally absent. As
discussed earlier, privacy policies posted on web sites generally do not discuss digital signage
installations or networks. Even if they do, it is unreasonable to provide notice to consumers of digital
signage privacy issues on a web site instead of providing notice directly at the place the cameras or
sensors are located.
Thirdly, when consumers are notified about recording, the notification can be euphemistic at best. A
notification sign under a security TV at one Wal-Mart in Oceanside, California stated: “in order to
bring you low prices, we use closed circuit televisions and electronic merchandise tagging systems.”
That notice strongly suggests that the camera is for security and says nothing about collecting
consumer information, and no other signs discussed the myriad other video and consumer tracking
activity occurring at Wal-Mart.
A Walgreens in Encinitas, California, labeled each security camera with a large card that said “security
camera.” One screen was not labeled this way, but instead said: “Providing safety and savings: video
recording in process.” (Figure 6). What do these kinds of notices mean to consumers? Do the notices
correspond to the reality of how the footage is actually being used? Do the notices cover all instances
of consumer tracking in the retail space? Are the notices deliberately misleading?
80
1-2-1 View Developing Audience Measurement Chip, Dec. 16, 2008.
<http;//www.digitalsigagetoday.com/article.php?id=21238>.

Figure 6
A video recording notice in a retail store. Is the video used only for security purposes?
In a blog discussion of notice to consumer and what consumers would accept regarding gaze tracking
tools, one industry expert had this to say:
Mark Lilien of the Retail Technology Group had an interesting perspective, feeling that gaze
tracking tools would be accepted as long as the retailer posts a sign telling folks that the store
uses video surveillance. But rather than making it seem like an invasion of privacy, convey it in
a positive light such as, "we're using the finest technology in the world to help us stock what
our customers want most.81
81
Laura Davis-Taylor, The In-Store Profiling Debate, May 20, 2008.

Lack of Consent, Opt-in, Opt-Out
In some instances, for example, in some loyalty card programs tied to digital signs, there are opt-in and
opt-out structures available for consumers. For example, Hot Topic’s loyalty program offers such a
structure for text messages and other marketing messages. But how does a consumer consent to being
recorded and analyzed and targeted by digital signs that employ hidden or pinhole-sized cameras or
sensors? How does a consumer opt out of being recorded in the first place? How does a consumer opt
out of having her image captured by a camera and then analyzed by facial recognition software and
then used for demographic marketing analysis or feedback on ad effectiveness? How does a consumer
opt out of being offered targeted ads based on what her age is, or gender, or ethnicity? Does a consumer
“passively consent” to this activity by simply walking into a store, or passing by a digital signage
installation?
In many if not most instances, digital signage installations that capture images of customers or
individuals have no consent structures in place. The only meaningful opt out available to people is to
wear clothing that obscures their face, such as a hoodie and sunglasses. In the preponderance of
situations, consumers images are being captured and analyzed without their consent, knowledge, or
understanding.
Identifiable data capture – anonymity
As discussed throughout this report, digital signage networks can use advanced video analytics to
capture, record, and analyze images of individuals. That this is occurring is unambiguous. What is
ambiguous is the way industry defines privacy and anonymity. The digital signage industry has come
up with non-standard and self-serving statements about anonymity and privacy. Somehow, there are
widespread views in the industry that video images of identifiable individuals are neither considered to
be private information nor identifiable information.
It is difficult to argue that a camera collecting and analyzing images with facial recognition technology
to glean audience characteristics such as gender and age is not using personally identifiable
information. An individual’s face is personally identifiable information. Period.82 As long as the digital
signage industry uses its own convenient definitions of personally identifiable, stored, and recorded,
then the industry will be out of step with consumers. .
Discrimination by Age, gender, and ethnicity
There is no question that age discrimination is a possibility with this technology. Targeting by age,
gender and in some cases ethnicity is happening right now. One company selling technology capable of
accomplishing this targeting wrote:
“The latest version of the company’s iCapture audience-measurement system can instantly
identify older shoppers; earlier versions of the software could delineate between an adult and a
child as well as determine gender and ethnicity. Coupled with the company’s PROM (proactive
Merchandising) software, iCapture allows retailers and marketers to target senior shoppers by
serving up ads that are interesting and relevant to them.
82
See, for example, the Privacy Act of 1974 that provides that a photograph is a record about an individual. 5 U.S.C. §
552a(a)(4) (definition of record).

“We believe we have come up with a breakthrough in targeted marketing by allowing retailers
and marketers to display age-appropriate content on a real-time basis, said George Murphy,
CEO, TruMedia.”83
This “breakthrough” came in 2008, and the technology has matured even further since that time. The
question becomes: how does a senior being targeted by his or her age consent to that activity? How do
they opt in or opt out of the targeted ad? The ad is being targeted to them because of how they look in
the camera. There is no hiding behind a computer or deleting a cookie or downloading an “opt-out
cookie.” A sign telling a consumer they may see ads based on their race, gender and age might inform
them of the program, but how can a person effectively give their permission for being targeted by their
demographics?
It is not difficult to envision improper uses of this targeting capability. There are not appropriate or
even any apparent controls in place to prevent this from happening.
Data retention issues
Some companies in the digital signage space state they do not store images collected from digital
signage that captures images for video analytics, and they conclude therefore that privacy is protected.
However, even in 2008 companies acknowledged in a New York Times article that image retention
could be accomplished:
“The companies that make these systems, like Quividi and TruMedia Technologies, say that
with a slight technological addition, they could easily store pictures of people who look at their
cameras.”84
There is no enforceable standard that would force companies to erase data captured from digital signs
and billboards, either facial recognition data, aggregate statistics, images, or other data. If a company
wanted to put up digital signage that recorded every passerby or shopper, and stored that footage for
later marketing or other use, it could. Who would know?
Sensitive information
When digital signage is used in areas where sensitive information such as financial or medical data
could be captured, privacy concerns become more pointed. An example is use of images of individuals
purchasing health products or prescriptions. Some in industry have raised additional security concerns
in this area.
When Cardinal Health launched its Pharmacy Health Network in August 2009, the launch included
flat-panel LCD screens placed in independent and franchised pharmacies throughout the United States.
The idea was that video advertisements would run on the screens while people waited for prescriptions
to be filled. Cardinal Health stated it would make the Pharmacy Health Network (PHNTV) available to
83
Digital signage today, TruMedia’s PROM software targets digital signage ads, August 19, 2008.
<digitalsignagetoday.com/article.php?id=20430>.
84
Stephanie Clifford, Billboards That Look Back, New York Times, May 31, 2008.

more than 5,000 independent retail and franchised pharmacies throughout the United States.85 The
screens do not appear to record images of consumers. Nevertheless, the launch of the network attracted
the attention of a CEO of a digital signage company, who wrote an open letter to the Chairman and
CEO of Cardinal Health warning the company of broader potential security issues with digital signage
installations.
“Because the PHNTV media player device is likely to sit on the same network segment as
confidential patient information, any mildly capable hacker who is able to penetrate the digital
signage player (especially one running Windows and using unencrypted HTTP transfers) now
has a rogue device within the trusted Pharmacy Network from which they may attempt to
access confidential patient information.”86
The author suggested three ways to solve the problem, and also noted that he did not want the
significant security risks raised by the deployment of a third party system in any trusted medical or
health network to become a “Canary in the coalmine example we all look back on in 10 years and
recall as the great big lawsuit that made security a real topic in Out Of Home Digital.”
One blog commenter on the letter voiced the opinion that the system as implemented was not likely to
fall afoul of best practices because the implementation did not collect data from the signs.87
Another issue related to digital sign deployment is wireless security. Many digital sign networks send
information using wireless connections at some point in the infrastructure.88 There are no available
statistics on wireless security practices in the digital signage industry, but it is an area of concern for
spying and for data breach. An intriguing concept to consider is how – or even if -- a company using a
digital signage vendor that was compromised would give consumers notice of data breach.
Information Captured on Children and Teens
Digital signage that captures data from teens and especially from children under the age of 13 may run
afoul of the policy that is the basis for Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA.89 COPPA
applies to information collected online and requires affirmative parental consent, but online is
ambiguously defined in COPPA. Most companies with digital signage networks appear to be silent on
COPPA compliance in regards to, for example, audience measurement techniques and ad targeting.
85
Cardinal Health launches in-store retail pharmacy digital advertising program. August 11, 2009, Press Release.
<http://www.cardinal.com/content/news/8112009_112654.asp>. See also a more detailed description of the network and a
demo video loop at <http://www.phntv.com/>.
86
An Open Letter from Chris Riegel, CEO STRATACACHE to Mr. Goeorge Barrett., Chairman and CEO, Cardinal Health,
August 13, 2009. Available at <http://www.dailydooh.com/archives/14964/print/>.
87
Id.
88
Deena M. Amato-McCoy, Stepping it Up: Traffic-Counting Technology Improves Marketing, Sales, Chain Store Age,
Vol. 84, No. 5, May 2008. “By eliminating the cabling expense required with wired solutions, wireless options can be used
in new settings, including across store departments and fitting rooms.”
89
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, < http://www.ftc.gov/ogc/coppa1.htm>.

Some companies with digital signage installations have acknowledged that targeting teens and children
is inappropriate in general terms, but not in terms specific to the digital signage program.
Generally, taking images of children for audience surveillance purposes raises multiple issues that have
not been addressed yet.
Combination of offline and online data and data from digital signage
One of the goals of placing advanced video analytics into digital signage networks is to tie that data to
other data sources. This is understood within the industry:
“More sophisticated shopper analytics will be combined with other data sources, including
loyalty programs and inventory management systems...” 90
Loyalty programs are fairly simple to link to digital signage, as are mobile telephone numbers. The
Castrol case in the UK shows how marketers will, if they can, link digital signage governmental
databases for marketing purposes. The linking of digital video signage data to additional data sources is
particularly sensitive because of the issue of identifiability.
VII. What has been done by industry regarding privacy?

The industry view of privacy has been officially articulated in a Recommended Code of Conduct for
Consumer Tracking Methods that has been provided to the World Privacy Forum. The code of conduct
is contained in full in Appendix A.
The code was created by members of POPAI, and took several years and went through several
iterations. An early draft of the code of conduct contained a discussion of “passive consent” and active
consent by consumers, among other issues. The final version outlines the technologies in use today, and
lists those technologies in a general hierarchy of risk. For example, tracking a consumer’s path through
a store is seen as a low privacy risk, but “Any method used to personally or uniquely identify
consumers, when combined with loyalty program data, or 3rd party marketing data” is categorized as a
high privacy risk.
The document represents an important first step in acknowledging the privacy issues inherent in the
digital signage industry, however, the document does not begin to approach a point of reasonable
tension between consumer interests and industry interests.
VIII. Recommendations
There is no public awareness of the capabilities of digital signage, and that has to change before for any
debate over regulation or legislation can start. Nevertheless, it is possible to identify from other
privacy arenas the types of standards that should be considered for users of digital signage. Full
recommendations will only be possible at a later stage. Here are some preliminary ideas.
90
Deena M. Amato-McCoy, Stepping it Up: Traffic-Counting Technology Improves Marketing, Sales, Chain Store Age,
Vol. 84, No. 5, May 2008. Quote from John Szczygiel, president, Mate Intelligent Video.
1. The full present and future capabilities of digital signage should be publicly disclosed and
discussed. There needs to be a full debate on what should be considered as anonymous
information. Digital signage that collects or stores any consumer information should require
actual, real-time notice to consumers. The extent of the notice may vary with the type of
information collected. A sign that merely counts the number of consumers who pass raises
fewer concerns than a sign that identifies the age, gender, or ethnicity of consumers. A sign
that combines visual information with known identifiable information (e.g., from a frequent
shopper card) raises the highest level of concern. The length of time information will be
stored is another factor.
2. Self-regulation for privacy has been consistently failed in the past to provide fair, adequate,
or balanced protections for consumers. No industry self-regulatory standards should be
invited or accepted by regulators unless consumer representatives have been involved in the
development of the standards.
3. Showing different consumers different advertisements is one thing. Using digital signage
consumer identification capabilities to support differential pricing or other material
differential offerings is a much more serious concern. At a minimum, some differential
practices should be disclosed in real time, and other differential practices should be banned.
4. Consumer information collected through digital signage should be covered by complete and
detailed privacy and security policies that reflect full implementation of Fair Information
Practices.
5. If consumer information (including videos) is to be disclosed in response to subpoenas or

court orders, every effort should be made to notify consumers in advance unless a law
enforcement interest requires that notice be withheld.
6. The use of digital signage with any information collection capabilities – no matter how
minor – should be expressly prohibited by law in some areas, such as changing rooms;
schools; children’s play areas; bathrooms; locker rooms; health care facilities (including
pharmacies in supermarkets); places where over-the-counter drugs and health foods are
sold; government offices; video, book and magazine stores and other places where First
Amendment interests are exercised; hotel rooms; and other places.
7. Any choices offered to consumers with respect to the recording of their information or
activities through digital signage should be made only after full, fair, and complete notice.
Choices should require consumers to express affirmative consent, and the choices should no
be expressed simply as an adjunct to a cell phone call or other activity.
8. The collection of information about children under the age of 13 and of teenagers should be
the subject of special consideration and separate regulation.

IX. Conclusion
New forms of sophisticated digital sign networks are being deployed widely by retailers and others in
both public and private spaces. Few consumers, legislators, regulators, or policy makers are aware of
the capabilities of digital signs or of the extent of their use. The technology presents new problems and
highlights old conflicts about privacy, public spaces, and the need for a meaningful debate. The privacy
problems inherent in digital networks are profound, and to date these issues have not been adequately
addressed by anyone.
Digital signage networks, if left unaddressed, have the potential to create a new form of secret and
highly sophisticated marketing surveillance, with the prospect of unfairness, discrimination, and abuses
of personal information. Industry has taken a small step with its draft code of conduct, but the issues
are too broad and too important to be left to industry control alone.
Much more needs to be done. This report by the World Privacy Forum seeks to shed light in a dark area
and to start a more robust public debate. We cannot allow secret surveillance cameras to become the
signs of our times.

Appendix A: POPAI Recommended Code of Conduct for Consumer Tracking
Methods
The following document is the recommended code of conduct for businesses engaging in consumer
tracking. The document is entirely non-binding, and was created entirely by industry participants. The
document is reproduced here in full with no changes.
Best Practices: Recommended Code of Conduct for Consumer

Tracking Methods
Summary:
While technology imposes few restrictions on data collection in retail settings, marketers should
safeguard consumer privacy. This document provides recommendations to marketers on
boundaries regarding consumer observations and how marketing insights should be used.
1. Introduction
Technological advances have made it effortless and inexpensive to track consumers in stores, through
surveillance or other types of camera or recording media. On the one had, there is huge demand to
gather shopper insights in order to profitably market the right products to the investing consumer and
provide a hassle-free shopping experience. On the other hand, the ability to record and track a
customer’s every move through the store, identify customers facially and demographically, and
pinpoint where and what customers are looking at, picking up, and putting into their shopping carts
through Observed Tracking Data (OTD) raises privacy issues and sends shivers down the spine of even
the boldest marketer. While the federal government has recognized dangers in the realm of mobile
marketing and healthcare and has subsequently passed laws to protect consumers, no such laws exist
for data collection in retail settings.
Clearly, there is a need for guidelines on data gathering and storing so that consumers are protected and
the ethical boundary has not been crossed. For instance, it may be good business practice for marketers
to track purchases through loyalty cards, or track how many people paused before a certain display.
However, it may not be okay to record and store facial data for marketing purposes without the consent
of the customer. Consequently, this document was created to provide recommendations on collecting
data in ethical manners and to encourage marketers to consider ethical issues before collecting
data. This document is not meant to be a replacement for federal and state laws; federal and state laws
obviously take precedence over this document and should always be consulted to ensure compliance
with the law.
2. Methods of OTD Collection
Before considering recommendations, it is important to categorize different OTD collection

mechanisms by the degree of privacy exposure they may create for the consumer. Once the level of risk
is ascertained, measures can then be taken to protect consumer privacy. There are three major levels of
risk: low, medium, and high. Typically, low risk methods do not track consumers nor gather
identifiable data. Medium risk methods gather tracking data but do not identify consumers. High risk
methods identify customers in the process of tracking them.
2.1 - Low Risk OTD Collection Methods
• Infrared or laser beam motion detectors

• Sonar and other non-recording, sound-based motion detectors
• Overhead path tracking systems that are capable of generating on-premise, aggregate "heat
maps" of consumer presence, but are not able to track or record individual consumer paths.
2.2 - Medium Risk OTD Collection Methods
• Overhead camera-based path tracking systems or "gaze tracking" systems that are able to track
and/or record individual consumer paths, but do not uniquely or individually identify
consumers.
• Sensor-laden shopping carts that track and/or record individual consumer paths, but are not able
to uniquely or individually identify consumers.
• RFID or other wired or wireless tracking devices knowingly worn or carried by consumer, or
used on shopping carts and baskets to track consumer behavior, but are not able to personally or
uniquely identify consumers.
• Any method where information can be used to collect demographic or psychographic
information, but cannot be used to individually or uniquely identify consumers.
2.3 High Risk OTD Collection Methods
• Personally identifiable OTD collection via mobile phone or mobile computing device via
wireless (cellular, Bluetooth, etc.) connection.
• Any method capable of identifying consumers based on past purchases, loyalty card programs,
or other behavioral patterns collected by OTD collection methods.
• Any camera-based OTD system that collects and stores visual data.
• Any method used to personally or uniquely identify consumers, when combined with loyalty
program data, or 3rd party marketing data.
3. The Code of Conduct
The Code describes recommended practices for OTD collection and marketing activities in three
categories: Data Collection, Storage and Security, Disclosure, and Cross-Channel and Cross-Domain
Marketing.
2.1. Data Collection, Storage and Security
• OTD collection venues that house HIPAA-compliant entities (for example, a supermarket that
contains a pharmacy) must adhere to all Federal laws governing the collection and use of
marketing data in and around HIPAA-compliant sites. Typically, no OTD collection methods
may be used in the HIPAA-compliant areas themselves, and special care must be taken to
ensure that no method that allows for the unique or individual identification of consumers is
used to track consumer behavior near the HIPAA sites. Click here or visit www.hipaa.org to
learn more.
• OTD collection mechanisms capable of uniquely identifying a minor (i.e., a consumer under 13
years of age or the age required by state or local law) cannot be used at the OTD collection site.
• In no event should image, video or biometric data used to generate OTD be stored without an
explicit consumer opt-in to do so. Collecting image or biometric data for marketing purposes
may violate Federal, state or local laws, including Federal Domestic Violence Laws. If
collecting image or biometric data is allowed in a venue's jurisdiction through OTD methods,
the data should be stored for up to 3 months or the maximum period allowed by law.
• Using video or image data from surveillance, security, or loss-prevention systems may violate
Federal, State and/or local laws, and is generally not recommended. If this practice is allowed
by law, marketers must use separate computer systems and storage devices from those used to
store the security/surveillance data. These computer systems and storage devices must be
password protected with different passwords used than for the security/surveillance systems.
• Any and all collected OTD that can be positively associated with a unique consumer should be
treated as Non-Public Personal Information (NPPI), and must be stored on a sufficiently secure
computer system, such as one that conforms to the Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards for
NPPI storage. Any OTD that could potentially be misused to create public safety hazards must
be treated as NPPI and be handled as described above.
• It is a violation of Federal law to use certain types of marketing data (for example, demographic
data) to offer special promotions to one group of consumers but not another. Marketing
practices that make use of demographic or psychographic OTD may not be used to create
promotions that vary the pricing or availability of an item or items, or change requirements and
availability of financing options, if applicable.
Click here or visit http://www.consumerprivacyguide.org/law/ for brief information on consumer

privacy laws.
2.2. Disclosure
• Marketers must provide a disclosure notice (the "Notice") to consumers who may be monitored
(intentionally or incidentally) by OTD activities.
• The Notice should be easily understandable, unambiguous, and current. It should not contain
any false or misleading information about the nature of the OTD collection methods or the
intended use of any collected data.
• The Notice should describe the OTD collection methods in effect and whether data collected via
OTD methods will be combined with other data including, but not limited to register receipt
information, credit card or any NPPI or data collected by 3rd party and/or affiliate marketers.
• The Notice should be posted in at least one location at each site where the OTD collection is
taking place, preferably at every entrance.
• The Notice itself must meet all ADA guidelines and must be free of obstructions that might
inhibit visibility.
• The Notice must contain information about all available opt-in and opt-out mechanisms such as
a consumer-accessible telephone that can be accessed for no fee in order to opt out.
• When OTD requires the use of a consumer's cell phone, mobile computing device, email
messages, or SMS text messages, or links OTD data with a telephone number or Bluetooth
device, marketers must also comply with the Mobile Marketing Association's Global Code of
Conduct, mobile marketing laws, FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule, other FTC rules, and the
National Do Not Call Registry.

2.3. Cross-Channel and Cross-Domain Marketing
Cross-channel OTD marketing occurs when data from multiple sources, such as in-store, catalogs,
online, and OTD are combined with the intent of tracking a consumer across multiple properties,
retail environment, or other public or private spaces.
• Consumers should be made aware of the use of their OTD data and other marketing data. Such
information should be included in the Notice.
• Cross-channel marketing is considered High Risk for OTD collection mechanisms. Therefore,
consumers should opt-in before data is combined in cross-domain ways. Furthermore, the
consumer should also re-opt in to the program each time he or she enters a new venue where the
cross-domain OTD marketing program takes place.
• Disclosure notices should be located at every OTD collection site participating in the program,
and follow all other best practices for OTD data collection.
• Disclosure notices for cross-domain OTD marketing programs must contain a complete list of
all Marketers and other entities participating in the program (for OTD collection or other
purposes), as well as a complete list of all OTD collection practices and the physical locations
of the OTD collection devices.
3. Participation
This document is not a contract or legal document, and is non-binding. However, adherence to the
Code is strongly recommended to ensure that consumer privacy is safeguarded.

_______________________________________________________
Credits:
Author: Pam Dixon, executive director, World Privacy Forum
Contributor: Robert Gellman http://www.bobgellman.com
For More Information and Document Updates:
PDF version of full report is located at

<http://www.worldprivacyforum.org/pdf/onewaymirrorsociety.pdf >
For updates to this report and other documents related to the report, see the World
Privacy Forum <http://www.worldprivacyforum.org/ >
For More Information Contact:
World Privacy Forum

www.worldprivacyforum.org
+1 760.436.2489
The World Privacy Forum is a 501 (C) (3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization. Its focus
is on public interest research and consumer education relating to privacy topics.
Document history:
Document published January 27, 2010.
©World Privacy Forum 2010.

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January 27, 2010

Principal preliminary recommendations discussed in the report include:

• Better notice and disclosure to consumers

About the World Privacy Forum

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.3

Figure 1. Castrol Oil personalized billboard in London ................................................................7

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.4

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.5

POPAI (Point of Purchase Advertising International),3 a large, well-established

An Intel Solution Brief about digital signage stated:

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.6

Modern digital signage in action: the Castrol digital billboards

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.7

Digital Signage by the Numbers

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.8

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.9

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.10

II. Overview of key digital signage capabilities in place today

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.11

• Simple traffic counters, such as laser beams.

Here is the most current version of the hierarchy (January, 2010.)

2.1 - Low Risk OTD Collection Methods

• Infrared or laser beam motion detectors

2.2 - Medium Risk OTD Collection Methods

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.12

2.3 High Risk OTD Collection Methods

III. Lower and Medium Privacy Risk Consumer Tracking Technologies

Heat maps and path tracking

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.13

• Do shoppers see the product on the shelf?

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.14

Audience Surveillance and Measurement for Marketing

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.15

Technologies that Measure Ethnicity, Age, and Gender

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.16

• Actual Impressions - The number of people who look at your displays

“[A]dvanced consumer demographics...will enable dynamic message selection on the digital

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.17

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.18

TruMedia states in its privacy policy:

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.19

CognoVision’s Anonymous Impression Metric (AIM) technology uses face-detection and

Mobile Marketing and Customer Loyalty programs Linked to Digital Signage

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.20

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.21

REGISTRATION: To participate in , you must create a member account ("account") by

The company states in a brochure discussing case studies:

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.22

V. Consumer Responses to Digital Signage and Privacy Issues

• General privacy problems

• A picture of the person

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.24

Security Camera Footage: Repurposing footage for marketing and profit

Lack of Transparency or Notice to consumer

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.25

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.26

The One-Way-Mirror Society, p.27

Identifiable data capture – anonymity

Discrimination by Age, gender, and ethnicity