New York Comic Con Sent Out Tweets From Attendees Accounts

Some New York Comic Con attendees were quick to head to Twitter to share their excitement about the start of the show. And even if you didn't, New York Comic Con may have done it for you.

Many fans, professionals and press attending on Thursday discovered, much to their surprise, that promotional tweets were sent from their accounts about the show.

It's all tied into the NYCC badges. ReedPop, who organize the show, allowed attendees to pre-register their badges online. Each badge contains a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip, tied to the user's identity, in an attempt to stop badge counterfeiting. Organizers then encouraged attendees to connect their social media accounts to their badges, which led to the tweets. Early reports on the topic suggested this was done without permission, but those who did connect their accounts to the badges were actually giving consent, though many likely didn't realize it:

Not surprisingly, there was an instant uproar about the situation. When reached for comment, a spokesperson for ReedPop gave this statement to CBR:

As you may have seen yesterday, there were some posts to Twitter and Facebook issued by New York Comic Con on behalf of attendees after RFID badges were registered. This was an opt-in function after signing in, but we were probably too enthusiastic in our messaging and eagerness to spread the good word about NYCC. We have since shut down this service completely and apologize for any perceived overstep. Please accept our apologies and have an absolutely excellent time this weekend.

An apology was also sent out via New York Comic Con's Twitter page.