Warehouse Management Systems (RFID)

Privacy

How would you like it if, for instance, one day you realized your underwear was reporting on your whereabouts? — California State Senator Debra Bowen, at a 2003 hearing

The use of RFID technology has engendered considerable controversy and even product boycotts by consumer privacy advocates who refer to RFID tags as ‘’spychips’’. The 2 main privacy concerns regarding RFID are:

Since the owner of an item will not necessarily be aware of the presence of a RFID tag and the tag can be read at a distance without the knowledge of the individual, it becomes possible to gather sensitive data about an individual without consent.

If a tagged item is paid for by credit card or in conjunction with use of a loyalty card, then it would be possible to indirectly deduce the identity of the purchaser by reading the globally unique ID of that item (contained in the RFID tag)

Most concerns revolve around the fact that RFID tags affixed to products remain functional even after the products have been purchased and taken home and thus can be used for surveillance and other purposes unrelated to their supply chain inventory functions.

Human implantation

The Food and Drug Administration in the US has approved the use of RFID chips in humans. Some business establishments have also started to chip customers, such as the Baja Beach nightclub in Barcelona. This has provoked concerns into privacy of individuals as they can potentially be tracked wherever they go by an identifier unique to them. There are some concerns this could lead to abuse by an authoritarian government or lead to removal of other freedoms.

Religious opinion

A few critics, mostly conservative Evangelical Christians, believe that RFID tagging could represent the mark of the beast mentioned specifically in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 13:16).