Moscow Subway To Use Devices To Read Data On Phones

Mods - Please move if needed. Thanks!

The head of police for Moscow's subway system has said stations will soon be equipped with devices that can read the data on the mobile telephones of passengers.

the devices have a range of about 5 meters and can read the SIM card

(Source)

This is cool technology, but isn't this an invasion of privacy? Or does that not matter since it's in Russia?

... it was illegal to track a person without permission from the authorities, but that there was no law against tracking the property of a company, such as a SIM card.

(Source)

So who is to say this isn't the first steps in tracking everyone? It always starts with it's the right of a company to track their property.

I'm curious what software they are using and if the data is uploaded to a central storage center for further analysis?