RFID: Could Big Brother be watching someday?

IDG News Service - Growing support for radio frequency identification tagging among technology vendors and retailers is creating both conveniences for consumers and new threats to their privacy.
That was the consensus among a panel of experts speaking today at the CeBIT trade show in Hanover, Germany, after a sometimes heated debate on the pros and cons of the technology.
RFID tags are similar to bar codes in that they contain data and require a transmitter gun to collect it, but they can store more information than bar codes. Retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. have been eager to adopt the technology because it can help them track inventory and buying information. However, privacy advocates fear that the tags could be left "active" after a sale, with the data stored on them still accessible. What's more, RFID tags placed in store loyalty cards, for example, could be used to profile consumers' shopping patterns.
"I can't really see the positive aspects of RFID for consumers and citizens," said Rena Tangens, founder and board member of German privacy group FoeBuD e.V.
Tangens argued that it is easy to covertly place RFID tags in products without consumers knowing. Transmitter guns could then theoretically access information about consumers stored in the tags. Her group, which gives out an annual tongue-in-cheek Big Brother Award to companies they deem as privacy violators, is calling for new legislation and technologies to protect consumers from the mishandling of RFID technology.
However, Philip Calderon, The ePC Group Ltd.'s vice president in Europe, downplayed Tangens' concerns, saying that "there are more myths in RFID than there are in Greek mythology." Calderon has worked with retailers as well as industry players on RFID standards. He believes the tags can offer great advantages to consumers and that any privacy concerns can be solved through the development of new technologies.
"I believe there is a place for legislation, but not if it holds back new technologies until it is put in place," Calderon said. "Companies shouldn't have to wait five or six years until the privacy issues are dealt with."
There are reasons consumers would benefit from having RFID tags left active after a purchase, he said, citing the ability to return goods without a receipt or send an item back without filling out a warranty card. All their purchase information would already be stored in the product's tag, eliminating the need for paper proofs of purchase.
Art Coviello, president and CEO of RSA Security Inc., agreed that RFID offers advantages to consumers but said that he "would