RFID is an acronym for Radio Frequency IDentification and if you are in a small business, you may or may not need it, but you might be using RFID without even knowing it, and for some people, that creates a problem.
RFID is a recent technology that uses computer chips about the size of a grain of salt to track items in transit, in warehouses and in retail. These "chips" can be unique to a truckload, a palate, a carton or to a specific item like a chocolate bar. Each device has the ability to pick up electromagnetic energy from a compatible reader device and readily surrender its stored information.
We are all familiar with this technology as related to some of the large oil companies like Shell and Esso who have introduced a program for their customers using RFID technology, whereby the chip is embedded in a small plastic key chain card that allows you to fill you car at the pump and then just pass your card by a reader that records the transaction. The charges are automatically transferred to your account.
Some systems allow you to move money to your card and it then acts like a debit transaction. When the money is depleted, more money can be easily uploaded, in some cases automatically, onto the card. There is a small charge for replenishing your card.
The advantage is that this system provides an easy, secure way to spend money at a faster rate than a credit card or a debit card. The entire transaction takes merely seconds as compared to as much as several minutes with either a credit card or a debit card.
But getting back to the identification function…and especially individual product information. There is a storm of protest on the rise as a result of this technology and you are bound to see this on the front page of your favorite newspaper soon. You see, the thing is, these tiny chips can be read anywhere from less than a meter to as far away as six to ten meters. They can be read through a shopping bag, through your clothes, wallet, brief case or purse. And that's the problem, our right of privacy.
Getting back to that chocolate bar with the unique code, that code could be linked to the person purchasing the item. The doomsayers predict a world where RFID readers would be everywhere; in stores, in movie theatres, on airplanes and even, some say, in our own homes so manufacturers could keep track of product consumption once purchased. These chips are so tiny they could be hidden on articles of clothing, printed onto a book or magazine page and stored in common household appliances. They also warn of the long-term health effects of constant electromagnetic energy.
Like any technology, RFID, can be used for good…like tracking a shipment lobster on its way from the ocean to your favorite seafood restaurant or a birthday card to your favorite aunt…and can also be used in the cause of evil by collecting data from unsuspecting consumers. So, before its too late (or maybe it is too late) consumer groups are asking for new legislation to control the use of these tiny chips and the readers that upload the information.
Didn't we have a similar storm of protest over bar codes, surveillance cameras and drug testing?
Was 1984 really 21 years ago? And written 57 years ago??
Rod Feller, Editor/Publisher
You can find out more about RFID by simply tapping those four letters into your browser. Last time we checked we were given more than 7 million otions..
How do you feel about this? Do you think legislation should be introduced to protect us from this technology or do think that eventually we will just come to accept it as another intrusion into our lives? Let us know.
