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N.D. bans
forced RFID chipping
Computer world |
April 13, 2007
By Judi McLeod
As expected, North Dakota has
become the second state in the U.S. to ban the forced implanting of
radio frequency identification (RFID) chips in people.
The two-sentence bill, passed by
the state legislature, was signed into law by Gov. John Hoeven last
Wednesday. Essentially, it forbids anyone from compelling someone
else to have an RFID chip injected into their skin. The state
follows in the steps of Wisconsin, which passed similar legislation
last year.
"We need to strike a balance as we
continue to develop this technology between what it can do and our
civil liberties, our right to privacy," Hoeven said in an interview.
He emphasized that the law doesn't prohibit voluntary chipping.
Military personnel who want an RFID chip injected so they can be
more easily tracked will still be allowed to get a chip. There are
also potential uses for the technology in corrections or in
monitoring animals, he noted.
Marlin Schneider, the state
legislator who sponsored the Wisconsin law, said he is glad to see
an antichipping legislation trend. However, such statutes don't go
far enough to curb the ability of private sector retailers and
manufacturers to "implant these things into everything we buy."
Ultimately, with RFID tagging
systems, corporations "will be able to monitor everything we buy,
everywhere we go and, perhaps as these technologies develop,
everything we say."
But Michael Shamos, a professor
who specializes in security issues at Carnegie Mellon University in
Pittsburgh, believes the law is too vague to do much good. For
instance, it only addresses situations where a chip is injected,
even though RFID tags can also be swallowed. And it doesn't clearly
define what a forced implant really is; someone could make chipping
a requirement for a financial reward.
"Suppose I offer to pay you
$10,000 if you have an RFID [chip] implanted?" he asked. "Is that
'requiring' if it's totally voluntary on your part?"
The idea behind the law isn't bad,
but "it looks hastily drawn and will have unpredictable
consequences," said Shamos.
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