Drivers on the interstate this past Saturday night in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills were greeted to a shocking sight as they passed a digital billboard along Interstate 75. It’s one of those things they might not have even glanced at otherwise, but for the fact that this billboard wasn’t touting a local business or public safety message: Instead, the sign appeared to be playing pornographic footage from an adult movie.
Several passersby posted short clips of what they saw to Twitter, which we, of course, won’t link to here for obvious reasons. An Auburn Hills Police Department spokesman couched the incident as a public safety issue, telling Fox 2 in Detroit that, luckily, no one was hurt since this is the kind of thing that could cause drivers to gawk and possibly create a dangerous pileup situation.
The footage was reportedly live for no more than a half-hour or so, after generating a heavy amount of calls to the police department. Speaking of the department, it released footage of what it says are two suspects who apparently broke into a building where a computer is kept that controls this particular billboard.
“The suspects were inside the building for approximately 15 minutes before leaving,” the department notes in that post to its Facebook page. “The suspects appear to be young white males, wearing hoodies and both wearing glasses.”
The hackers are facing the possibility of a 90-day jail sentence as well as a $500 fine. And in a strange coda to this incident, one of the actresses in the footage shown on the billboard told Vice she’s glad the situation didn’t cause any rubbernecking and that no one got hurt. Also, that she’s hopeful “this will open a larger public discussion regarding the safety of electronic billboards.”
