RFID, European Union and Privacy

Filed in archive Privacy and Security on March 9, 2006

When I read news reports like this indicating that the European Union is going to launch a public inquiry into RFID, I don't know whether to (1) be worried that lawmakers will stifle the promise of a revolutionary technology by meddling, or (2) say "ho hum" because the effort will be futile.

I think I'll say "ho hum." Why? Not because the issue of privacy is unimportant. In fact, privacy is a very important issue.

I say "ho hum" because that horse left the stable a long time ago. It started two decades ago when computer databases stored with information about people started to proliferate, then accelerated in the mid-1990s when data started to be available online and transmittable in an instant.

RFID is just one of a number of technologies that aid capturing information.

Besides, it seems to me that if you are going to challenge technologies that you think infringe people's privacy, you should be challenging all of them, not zeroing in on one that for some reason has gotten a maligned reputation. Go after them all -- biometrics, global positioning systems, databases, wireless networks, search engines, adware -- it's a long list. Plenty to choose from.