I know you're thinking RFID chips present companies like Walmart with a useful marketing tool that allows them to better monitor inventory stock levels, and yes you're absolutely correct, they do exist in American passports to make it more difficult to counterfeit passports, despite information security considerations on both corporate and government front.
But did you ever consider that these RFID chips could be your worst nightmare on the road? Imagine having a spy chip implanted on car license plates with ability to generate an automated ticket for drivers whose vehicle registration, emissions or insurance certification lapses, even just for a couple of days.
Not surprisingly, as a result, on March 14, 2012, the Connecticut Senate Transportation Committee unanimously passed a bill requesting the Department of Motor Vehicles to produce a report regarding the implementation of RFID for motor vehicle registration no later than January 1, 2013.
And if you think thats an unbearable invasion of privacy, wait till you see RFID chips installed on children with messages sent to phones of parents once they pass a certain monitor that confirms they arrived in school!
So much for RFID chips as marketing tools. Clearly, this miniscule device has gigantic impact on our lives, and there is no running from it like you can run from a policeman!
To see complete article: http://endthelie.com/2012/04/03/branded-how-rfid-spychips-are-being-used-by-government-and-major-corporations/#axzz1sx0WNDmN
To learn more about RFID chips, you can also read chapter two (optional) of Professor Mary Lou's book
As I remember Singapore installed chips in all roads several years ago but I don't know that they've ever activated them.
ReplyDeleteA previous blog discussed the invasion of privacy of your computer having an eye scanner that interpreted the amount of time you viewed an item, the movement of your eyes, etc. for marketing purposes. I viewed that as a huge invasion of privacy. However, RFID chips to determine if a vehicle is properly registered, etc. is not what I would deem as significant of an invasion of privacy. If you think of the potential benefits if applied in a reasonable manner, its really not all that offensive. Perhaps, the RFID chip could provide drivers with a reminder at thirty days prior to expiration, then at 15 days, then at five days. After these reminders are ignored, then an automated ticket is perfectly appropriate. The same could be done with insurance, when vehicle insurance is about to lapse. Many people's lives are ruined when an individual that should have never been on the road (because insurance or registration lapsed), gets into an accident. RFID chips with tracking locations could also be used to track stolen vehicles, etc. There are countless benefits if reasonably applied. Of course, there is the ever looming fear of the slippery slope of too much government supervision. If a chip may track our cars when drivers violate the law, then it is only a short skip to justify tracking individuals under certain, and continuosly expanding circumstances.
ReplyDeleteThe Federal Government has established the Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994. Any data used by law enforcement for automatic vehicle identification would have to be public record in the first place. The technology isn't bad. You just haven't figured out there is a safe way to use it yet.
ReplyDeleteI would prefer getting bad guys off the road through live traffic stops instead of mailing tickets for the revenue. Send the ticket. Try collecting. Sooner or later an officer will have to stop a vehicle. WOuldn't it be nice if they could find the suspended or revoked vehicles before hr pulls you over or one of the uninsured crashes into you?