RFID and Privacy

RFID is a great technology with many uses, but recently it’s started to cause concerns about maintaining privacy when the latest RFID technologies are put to use. The tracking capabilities of the latest RFID technologies are impressive. However, the same type of devices that can track every single inventory item (instead of giving one code to all pineapples, every pineapple with an RFID tag is individually tracked) can be used to keep tabs on people. For a long time, there was neither technology nor social tolerance for this kind of invasive surveillance of civilians. Even though the idea of tracking people has been around for many years, only recently has it become really possible.

So how is RFID technology being used to impinge on people’s privacy? In a range of ways. Some are more innocuous, like the way prisoners are fitted with RFID tracking bracelets. Some are downright creepy; for instance, the Mexican government uses implanted RFID transponders to keep track of its own officials. It’s not that you can’t see the benefits of this kind of tracking; after all, like many governments, the Mexican government has struggled hard to minimize corruption. However, the implication is that to serve the government, you may have to give up a huge chunk of privacy–and for many of us, that can be bitter going down.

Much of this is a question of tolerance. Fifteen years ago, the notion of having to have your every move tracked by an RFID badge in the workplace would not have been tolerated. However, the growth of the internet and exponential increases in technology and marketing have fostered a culture of transparency. Most people are now used to passing our their information on social networking sites and advertising surveys, and having their purchases tracked by stores. Most people are used to thereby loosing control of this information forever. We can no longer take privacy for granted; unless it is actively defended, it will disappear.