in my last blog entry, I described how states on the U.S. and Mexican borders have begun to issue "enhanced driver licenses," which can be used at U.S. border crossings in Mexico and Canada. Each license incorporates a RFID tag encoded with a unique identification number. The ID tag number on your license is associated with your identity.
I also described how corporate American plans to install a nationwide network of"person tracking units" (PTUs) everywhere that people go--from airports to shopping malls to museums.
How do corporate America and the U.S. government plan to use the massive amounts of data gathered through RFID tags? ssentially, to facilitate 24/7 surveillance of everything you do and everywhere you go. Here's how I think it will work.
Even if the RFID tag contains no personally identifiable data, that doesn't matter. That's because once the PTU establishes the link between your unique RFID number and your identity, "personal information will be obtained when the person uses his or her credit card, bank card, shopper card or the like." Enhanced driver licenses are ideal for this purpose because they are compatible with scanners already in use by many large retailers.
Corporate America plans to aggregate this data and use it to make better decisions about how to market specific products to specific individuals. Based on your RFID profile, for instance, you might see the type of personalized advertising pitches that were a staple of the movie "Minority Report" (highly recommended). But naturally, this data would also be available for government inspection as well…and there's the real danger.
Consider how China plans to use RFID tags. The new high-tech Chinese national ID card contains a record of the cardholder's employment status, ethnicity, health and reproductive history, and even religion. Plans are underway to use these cards in conjunction with state-of-the-art CCTV and related surveillance technologies in Chinese cities. The primary goal of the program, according to a company manufacturing the RFID tags, is "for the government to control the population in the future." The same potential exists in the United States or any other country that adopts this technology without careful consideration of the consequences.
What can you do to slow down the RFID juggernaut? For starters, don't apply for an enhanced driver's license if the state you live in offers one. And while you're at it, get involved in the effort to reduce RFID surveillance. The most influential organization in this fight is CASPIAN—Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering. Visit their Web site at http://www.nocards.org to learn more.
Copyright © 2008 by Mark Nestmann
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