Circuit Rider RFID and You Walmart claims that RFID, or Radio Frequency Identification, has already saved them millions of dollars, so these tags will not go away anytime soon. Instead they will become more pervasive – and more invasive. RFID is a means to identify items and track their movement over time. Walmart requires most manufacturers to place an RFID tag on each pallet or in some cases each shipping case. These tags have no battery. Instead they are activated by receiving radio frequency energy on a specific frequency from a scanner device. Using this energy, they transmit the information encoded in the tag back to the scanner. The information can be a simple number, or a whole series of alpha and numeric information. In first- and second-generation technology, tags can only be read from a short distance, from a few inches to few feet. So far these seem like fancy bar codes, eh? The difference is that an entire truckload of pallets can be read by a scanner as the pallets pass through a doorway in a factory, or as they are loaded on a truck, or when they are unloaded at a store. These scan readings go into databases that record the manufacture, shipment, receipt, etc., etc. of the items carrying the tag. So this is good, right? Well yes, it is good when we are dealing with goods in the distribution system – televisions, washing machines, breakfast cereal. FRID will revolutionize supply chain management by reducing the amount of inventory needed to keep stores in stock. But what about embedding RFID chips in consumer items like clothing? Right now, RFID tags are fairly expensive, over a dollar for a simple tag, even in large quantities. So, few manufacturers or retailers are willing to absorb the cost of a tag in every garment. So far, I know of only one test at this level in the US. Two chains in the United Kingdom have started such a program. So what? There are privacy concerns about wearing an RFID tag, you can be tracked. Anywhere there is a sensor can record the fact that you were there at a point in time. Ok, a tag in our shirt does not identify you directly. No, it would take some data mining to determine your identity. Let me take a slightly different approach to this. One version of the Immigration Act currently being debated in Congress would create a “tamper- and forgery-proof” national identity card that would be issued to everyone in the US – including US citizens. Now this would be really cool if it included RFID technology. Such a card could carry more than just your name, address, driver’s license and social security numbers. It could include the name of your employer, your occupation, race, ethnicity, and national origin. Since you can’t read the card yourself, how would you know? Sensors in every airport, train station or subway entrance could check for suspected terrorists and alert law enforcement. Think how safe that would make us! Of course, it could also sound that alert about anyone suspected of anything, like an unpaid parking ticket, and deny them access to travel of any kind. The police would no longer need to bother you to ask for your identification, they could just scan your ID card from a safe distance (so much for the fourth amendment). In fact (no joke), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is looking for RFID scanners that can read a tag in a moving vehicle. Why would they need that? Add these to the surveillance cameras installed in a growing number of cities, like Chicago, and it would be possible to track anyone’s movements in real time. Think how safe we would be then! After all, this would only be a little change. We already allow government to track where our cars go in exchange for skipping a stop at a tollbooth.
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