---
[ ARCHIVE ](https://www.citywatchla.com/archive)
# Big Brother is Watching You … from an LA Billboard
October 30 2014
Written by Dennis Hathaway.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)
BILLBOARD WATCH-Ever since George Orwell’s now-classic novel “1984” was published in 1949, critics and others have speculated about the origin of the “Big Brother” character that keeps a constant eye on inhabitants of Orwell’s fictional country of Oceania. One has suggested that Orwell got the idea from billboard ads for a British correspondence course that featured the business owner’s image and the words, “Let Me Be Your Big Brother.”
Whether true or not, this serves as an apt preface to media reports about billboards that can now track you as you drive by and collect data—what kind of car you’re driving, your age and gender, even where you’re going. All in service of the holy grail of advertisers, which is the ability to target their sales pitches to a precisely defined audience.
{module \[862\]}
{module \[662\]}
This brilliant idea—or unwarranted invasion of privacy, depending upon your point of view—was just tested in the Los Angeles Area by CBS Outdoor, which is in the process of changing its name to Outfront Media, perhaps to better exemplify its commitment to the surveillance society. According to this article in Advertising Age, a billboard on the 10 freeway even gathered data showing that certain drivers were headed for a nearby strip club.
To be fair, you have to have a certain app and technological device in your car for this to work, but it does show how deeply advertisers would like to poke into our lives to sell their products and services. And to use public space that belongs to everyone in pursuit of that goal.
***(Dennis Hathaway is the president of the Ban Billboard Blight coalition. He can be reached at: )***
***-cw***
***CityWatch***
***Vol 12 Issue 88***
***Pub: Oct 31, 2014***
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/107 "LA DWP | Save $4K, Green | Priority Ad")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/114 "McKinney Campaign")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Power Savers)")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/98 "Donna Tryfman - HS1-1")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/97 "Home - LA DWP #2 (Pay Water Bill Help)")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/111 "David DeJute Campaign")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/112 "Anna Reitano Vertical R. Col")
## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays
Last Name
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/113 "Rhonda Haymon campaign")
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/110 "Something You Should Know")
---
## Featured CityWatch Stories
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/election-2024/33543-karen-bass-matters-stop-the-dsa)
### [Karen Bass Matters - Stop the DSA](https://www.citywatchla.com/election-2024/33543-karen-bass-matters-stop-the-dsa)
I WON’T BE SILENT - Full disclosure: I can’t vote for mayor of Los Angeles because I live in Beverly Hills. But I am as…
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33562-marissa-roy-the-other-face-of-gascon)
### [Marissa Roy: The Other Face of Gascón](https://www.citywatchla.com/voices/33562-marissa-roy-the-other-face-of-gascon)
Los Angeles voters rejected George Gascón's progressive prosecution experiment in 2024. Now, a City Attorney candidate…
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33573-airbnbs-funding-of-mayor-bass-raises-the-specter-of-a-pay-to-play-ploy)
### [Airbnb’s Funding of Mayor Bass Raises the Specter of a Pay‑to‑Play Ploy](https://www.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33573-airbnbs-funding-of-mayor-bass-raises-the-specter-of-a-pay-to-play-ploy)
ELECTION 2026 - Los Angeles has been shaken by a powerful corporation pouring money into Mayor Karen Bass’s campaign in…
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/election-2024/33548-do-we-want-a-governor-or-an-underground-pawn-in-sacramento)
### [Do We Want A Governor, or An Underground Pawn, in Sacramento?](https://www.citywatchla.com/election-2024/33548-do-we-want-a-governor-or-an-underground-pawn-in-sacramento)
ALPERN AT LARGE - Let’s be honest—Steve Hilton wants Californians to learn more about what he proposes, and Xavier Bece…
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/housing/33564-adus-a-new-weapon-for-landlords-to-create-turmoil-and-hardship-for-tenants)
### [ADUs: A New Weapon for Landlords to Create Turmoil and Hardship for Tenants](https://www.citywatchla.com/housing/33564-adus-a-new-weapon-for-landlords-to-create-turmoil-and-hardship-for-tenants)
ADU'S - Renters Are at Risk of Losing Their Vital Parking Spaces A new and expanding issue is emerging for renters thr…
---
## [ ARCHIVE ](https://www.citywatchla.com/archive)
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/archive/15339-early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles)### [Early Intervention and Jobs are Key to Stemming Chronic Homelessness in Los Angeles](https://www.citywatchla.com/archive/15339-early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles)
### [Tucker Carlson and Gay Rightwinger Blame California Wildfires On Hiring LGBTQ People](https://www.citywatchla.com/archive/18755-tucker-carlson-and-gay-rightwinger-blame-california-wildfires-on-hiring-lgbtq-people)
### [Anti-LGBTQ Veep Just Can’t Stop Talking about Mayor Pete](https://www.citywatchla.com/archive/17690-anti-lgbtq-veep-just-can-t-stop-talking-about-mayor-pete)
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/archive/15316-news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties)### [NEWS PULSE: ‘Corrupt System’ Reason for Not Voting in 2018 … Majority Wants More Than Two Parties](https://www.citywatchla.com/archive/15316-news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties)
[  ](https://www.citywatchla.com/archive/10245-dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles)### [Dead Dog Set on Fire … Sparks Fears for Strays in Los Angeles](https://www.citywatchla.com/archive/10245-dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles)