Senator wants to bar forced use of ID IMPLANTS

[babylonsister]

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/06/18/news/state/61707174441.txt

Senator wants to bar forced use of ID implants

By: STEVE LAWRENCE - Associated Press Writer

SACRAMENTO (AP) -- Forgot your company identification badge at home? That wouldn't be a problem if employees had a small identification device about the size of a grain of rice inserted under their skin instead of a badge.

If that seems Orwellian to you, state Sen. Joe Simitian may have a solution. He's introduced a bill that would bar an employer or anyone else from requiring a person to have one of the devices implanted.

snip//

Simitian says he is concerned the information provided by RFIDs could be used to track people's movements or to steal their personal information with the use of an inexpensive monitor.

"When people understand the vulnerability of the technology and the absolute lack of any privacy protections or limits on information that can be broadcast, they understand why it's a legitimate source of concern," he said.

The use of implanted RFIDs makes "you think we really are in a world we never could have imagined," he said.

more...

[MedleyMisty]

1. Hey, that's one thing the Christiban would fight with us on

Because they'd see it as "the mark of the beast" or whatever.

[atreides1]

2. No they wouldn't

[gatorboy]

5. Only if Clinton suggested it.

[porphyrian]

3. Intelligent design implants? They must interfere with logic and higher reasoning.

</smartassness>

[Moochy]

4. EFF's got a good site on this topic

http://www.eff.org/Privacy/RFID/sb768_fact_sheet.php

What are RFID tags?
Contactless integrated circuits, most commonly in the form of RFID tags, are tiny devices connected to miniature antennae. When a circuit reader emits a radio signal, the devices in the vicinity respond by transmitting their stored information to the reader. When the devices are used to encode a person's personal information, the devices do not alert that person that his or her personal information, such as a birth date, digital picture, or unique identifier number is being transmitted. Recent U.S. State Department testing showed that even IDs with an intended read range of just 4 inches can actually be read from 2-3 feet away with modified readers.

I think this is another case of a product looking for a market, and trying to change the laws to allow/encourage this approach to encoding medical information.

Why is RFID somehow better than a magnetic card in your wallet? Even a magnetic tattoo or something on your body that does not respond to radio frequencies at the ranges that RFID pellets do would be more acceptable.

[shadowknows69]

6. "you think we really are in a world we never could have imagined,"

No, plenty of people have imagined it. Anyone involved in technological research should be required to read and view a basic list of science fiction stories and movies before they start.

[LeftHander]

7. If I worked for an employer that required that..I would quit. nt

[shadowknows69]

8. I can't believe the fundies don't go apeshit over stuff like this

This was exactly the kind of thing I was taught was going to be the "mark of the beast" when I was a young, impressionable baptist. The problem is the rapturists took over and claimed that God said that he would rescue the faithful before they had to make "the choice" so they think they'll be whisked away before the "mark" even happens.