The Financial Times: US group implants electronic tags in workers]

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1



- -------- Original Message --------
Subject: The Financial Times: US group implants electronic tags in workers
Date: Sun, 12 Feb 2006 16:24:10 -0700
From: Bob Rosenberg <bob () bobrosenberg phoenix az us>
To: dave () farber net

Dave

Perhaps for IP.

"So far around 70 people in the US have had the implants, the company said."

I don't believe I need to mention a litany of privacy concerns at the
moment.

Cordially,

Bob Rosenberg
P.O. Box 33023
Phoenix, AZ  85067-3023
LandLine:  (602)274-3012
Mobile:  (602)206-2856
bob () bobrosenberg phoenix az us

**********************************************

The Financial Times
US group implants electronic tags in workers
> By Richard Waters in San Francisco
> Published: February 12 2006 22:02 | Last updated: February 12 2006 22:02
> >

An Ohio company has embedded silicon chips in two of its employees - the
first
known case in which US workers have been ?tagged? electronically as a way of
identifying them.

CityWatcher.com, a private video surveillance company, said it was
testing the
technology as a way of controlling access to a room where it holds security
video footage for government agencies and the police.

Embedding slivers of silicon in workers is likely to add to the
controversy over
RFID technology, widely seen as one of the next big growth industries.

RFID chips ? inexpensive radio transmitters that give off a unique
identifying
signal ? have been implanted in pets or attached to goods so they can be
tracked in transit.

?There are very serious privacy and civil liberty issues of having people
permanently numbered,? said Liz McIntyre, who campaigns against the use of
identification technology.

But Sean Darks, chief executive of CityWatcher, said the glass-encased chips
were like identity cards. They are planted in the upper right arm of the
recipient, and ?read? by a device similar to a cardreader.

?There?s nothing pulsing or sending out a signal,? said Mr Darks, who
has had a
chip in his own arm. ?It?s not a GPS chip. My wife can?t tell where I am.?

The technology?s defenders say it is acceptable as long as it is not
compulsory.
But critics say any implanted device could be used to track the ?wearer?
without
their knowledge.

VeriChip ? the US company that made the devices and claims to have the only
chips that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration ? said the
implants were designed primarily for medical purposes.

So far around 70 people in the US have had the implants, the company said.



Find this article at:
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/ec414700-9bf4-11da-8baa-0000779e2340,s01=1.html

© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2006.

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (MingW32)
Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org

iD8DBQFD78hdh0VyAToQeqERAoWXAJ9WEtLUktQWVImPpHHqtq2UfHA2YwCgrNPe
2IXghQY6WepNROwXNmXRglE=
=jMoa
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

-------------------------------------
You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org
To manage your subscription, go to
  http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip

Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/