July 29, 2016
Privacy advocacy groups are sounding the alarm on LinkNYC, a network of free Wi-Fi kiosks that have been installed across New York City in the past year by CityBridge, which is a consortium of companies such as Qualcomm, CIVIQ Smartscapes, and Intersection, the latter a company in which Sidewalk Labs invested, who is part of Alphabet.
The kiosks, called Links, enable users to connect to a private Wi-Fi network, allow free domestic calling, provide free device charging via USB ports, an integrated tablet for surfing the Web, and an emergency button for calling 911.
Based on reports from Cryptome and MassPrivateI, over 10,000 of such kiosks will be installed in New York. The project has told Softpedia that they only h