Occlith
Well-Known Member
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) - Product tracking or privacy invasion?
Has anyone been following stories about Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) used to track consumers?
Although this technology has been used for many years, it has become more commonplace and increasingly controversial.
I culled the following info from a site called Spychips, a project of CASPIAN, Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering.
Companies are implanting Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) into products to monitor consumer behavior after they leave stores.
The RFID industry claims that this technology is for inventory tracking, that there is no need to worry about consumer privacy.
Radio Frequency Identification is an automatic data capture technology that uses tiny tracking chips affixed to products. These tiny chips can be used to track items at a distance--through someone's purse, backpack, or wallet.
These tags, hidden in the product or in its packaging, can be read though walls, allowing marketers to know exactly when and where you are using a specific product. Marketers claim it's completely legal, while opponents refer to them as "spy chips".
Some companies have been testing this technology secretly and without customer knowledge. The tiny tags can be imbedded in parts of the product, like inside bottle caps, the soles of shoes, clothing labels. They may also be hidden in consumer "reward" cards.
Spychips.com has press releases, photos of the RFID tags, and up to date information.
A Wikipedia article on RFID
Has anyone been following stories about Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) used to track consumers?
Although this technology has been used for many years, it has become more commonplace and increasingly controversial.
I culled the following info from a site called Spychips, a project of CASPIAN, Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering.
Companies are implanting Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) into products to monitor consumer behavior after they leave stores.
The RFID industry claims that this technology is for inventory tracking, that there is no need to worry about consumer privacy.
Radio Frequency Identification is an automatic data capture technology that uses tiny tracking chips affixed to products. These tiny chips can be used to track items at a distance--through someone's purse, backpack, or wallet.
These tags, hidden in the product or in its packaging, can be read though walls, allowing marketers to know exactly when and where you are using a specific product. Marketers claim it's completely legal, while opponents refer to them as "spy chips".
Some companies have been testing this technology secretly and without customer knowledge. The tiny tags can be imbedded in parts of the product, like inside bottle caps, the soles of shoes, clothing labels. They may also be hidden in consumer "reward" cards.
Spychips.com has press releases, photos of the RFID tags, and up to date information.
A Wikipedia article on RFID
