U.S. Government Report on RFID Negative?

Filed in archive RFID Basics on June 20, 2005

A column at Supply & Demand Chain Executive suggests that the recent GAO report about usage of RFID in the U.S. government is too negative. It says, quote:

"The GAO report is flawed and provides a relatively unfavorable, potentially damaging view of RFID. The report cites several security-related issues that RFID can present, such as tracking individual movements, preferences, confidential personal information, etc."

The column takes a puzzling veiwpoint, if you ask me. I did not interpret the GAO report as being negative. If anything, the report seems to validate the importance of RFID, because it shows how many governmental agencies are considering, evaluating, testing or deploying RFID. I thought the report was straight forward and matter-of-fact -- not disapproving of RFID at all.

Negativity -- like beauty -- must be in the eye of the beholder.

[Read the 41-page GAO report (PDF) here -- we report, you decide.]