There are two certainties in New York City: The F train will be late, and our government is always looking for new ways to surveil our every move. New technology allows police to get access to in-depth data related to our use of public transportation, and a proposed bill is seeking to prevent this issue before it gets out of hand.
In 2019, the MTA started collecting subway fares through what is known as the “One Metro New York” (OMNY) system. This system started in select buses and subway stations, but by the end of 2020, it was embedded in New York public transit. OMNY uses radio signal transceivers in phones, smart devices, and credit and debit cards to pay for entry onto a subway platform. The system is convenient for quick entry—but has dangerous and unnerving potential.
Law enforcement could easily transform OMNY into a perpetual log of every rider’s movements.
According to the OMNY Privacy Policy, when you scan your device or card, the MTA collects information like your mailing address, date of birth, and name. What may come as a surprise is that they also collect highly sensitive personal details like your photograph, location, the last four digits of your Social Security Number, and other “tracking information.”
The OMNY privacy policy also says that they can store your information indefinitely, which helps to accrue a database ripe for police abuse. The only permission law enforcement would need from subway riders is a second-long scan on their ride to work. Traveling to a political protest or using the bus stop outside a mosque on Friday afternoon, for instance, could be tracked and used by law enforcement.
OMNY’s privacy policy provides only one way to avoid being tracked: Just don’t use public transportation. This option is obviously not viable for most New Yorkers.
New Yorkers’ options are slim if they would rather not let the MTA collect their personal information. The Metrocard is being phased out and will soon be unavailable. Cash is quickly becoming obsolete for New York public transportation—it has been many decades since subway turnstiles accepted cash directly.
Scanning a credit card results in access to your data. You might assume that buying a physical OMNY card results in more data privacy than scanning onto a subway platform, but even buying an OMNY card with a credit card gives the MTA access to your data.
Last summer, New Yorkers saw just how vulnerable this data can be in the OMNY system. Reporting by 404 Media showed that all it took was someone’s credit card information to see their MTA trip history—an obvious danger to anyone facing domestic violence or stalking. MTA disabled the feature after public outcry, but has left us with little trust that they will safeguard our data, including from police misuse.
New Yorkers deserve to opt out of data-sharing with the MTA. They deserve the option to pay in cash without being penalized for doing so. Penalties on cash payments punish unbanked people and those experiencing poverty.
The proposed OMNY Privacy Act does two things.
First, it ensures New Yorkers will be able to pay for the subway in cash. It mandates that the MTA must offer ways to buy a new, physical OMNY card with cash so swiping it does not log your personal information. The bill guarantees riders will then be able to pay in cash to add funds to their physical cards. This safeguards a form of entry onto subway platforms for those without smartphones or bank accounts, or those who simply wish to stay off the grid.
Second, the bill prohibits the MTA and its third parties from handing data over to the police without a warrant. Currently, OMNY’s privacy policy has an exception allowing your personal information to be shared with law enforcement in the name of “safety,” without limitation.
Giving law enforcement unfettered access to OMNY data does not make New Yorkers safer. In fact, it could mean quite the opposite. Once law enforcement knows where all of us are coming and going at all times, that information can serve as “probable cause” to detain or arrest people associated with a protest or any event where a crime was allegedly committed. This would disproportionately affect Black New Yorkers, other communities of color, the LBGTQ+ community, and people experiencing poverty.
Undocumented New Yorkers would be especially affected by an OMNY database. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has a history of cooperating with local law enforcement agencies and using data as a means to find and deport people. With an OMNY database in effect, many undocumented people would understandably fear using public transportation and be intimidated from working jobs without walkable commutes.
OMNY creates yet another tool to continue to prosecute over-criminalized communities. Mayor Adams has already expressed his desire to use dubious technologies to police New Yorkers. Unless legislators move on this bill, it’s only a matter of time before his law enforcement agencies move in on your OMNY data.
Austen Fisher served as legal intern at the Surveillance Technology Oversight Program and is in his third year at Brooklyn Law School.
This could also be a plus, especially if you go missing or murdered. NYPD can trace your movements this is a vital clue.