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This article was in the November 12 issue of First Magazine ('07):
.0002 inches
The width of the world's smallest RFID chip (about the size of a speck of powder) developed by Hitachi earlier this year. (Source: Engadget.com)
Ever get the feeling that someone is watching you---even when you seem to be alone? Chances are, the Peeping Tom is a tiny microchip embedded in a store discount card, library card or lipstick tube.
The technology is called radio frequency indentification (RFID), and here's how it works: Each tiny "spychip" is assigned a unique number. When the chip passes an RDID detector, it wirelessly emits the number---but it can yield much more than a string of digets. In a supermarket savings card, for example, sensors can pick up the chip's signal the moment a shopper enters the store. The store can then instantly cross-reference the chip's serial number with an ever-growing dossier on that person---including the shopper's location and purchasing history.
This individual tracking worries many privacy advocates. A watchdog group in England recently discovered that Gillette tagged thousands of razor packages with RFID chips. When consumers picked up the tagged packages at stores, the chips' movement triggered hidden cameras to snap photos of shoppers' faces. This secret surveillance program may have already hit the United States.
Still, RFID technology has its supporters. At some amusement parks, chip-embeded bracelets linked to credit cards allow visitors to pay for rides and refreshments with a wave of the wrist. And as part of its homeland security efforts, this year the U.S. State Department began inserting RFID chips in passports, enabling officials to instantly6 verify a passport holder's name and nationality.
Exactly how much privacy will people give up in the name of convenience and security? Here, First offers reactions to some real life scenarious.
To answer the question: Where do you draw the line?
NOTE: I logged on to the above mentioned website and because this is an old issue, I didn't see anything about this on the website.
