NPR: California Law Outlaws RFID Implant Mandate

Beginning Jan. 1, no one in California can be forced to get Radio Frequency Identification Devices — also called RFID implants.

These tiny chips with miniature antennae can be implanted under the skin. They raise many privacy and health concerns. Advocates say laws might hamper important uses of the technology.

NPR

Bosses will probably find other ways to get under your skin, but thanks to California lawmakers they won't be allowed to stick little electronic ID badges into your flesh.

A bill by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Friday, bars California employers and others from forcing people to have a radio frequency identification (RFID) devices implanted under their skin. The bill goes into effect Jan. 1.

"It's the ultimate invasion of privacy," Simitian said. "They should find other ways to keep track of employees."

Wisconsin and North Dakota have enacted similar laws. While Simitian was unaware of any California companies requiring workers to get implanted with RFID chips, it has already happened elsewhere.

In 2006, a Cincinnati video surveillance company called Citywatcher.com raised eyebrows when it required employees who work in its secure data center to be implanted with a chip. Simitian figured it wouldn't be long before others followed suit.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2004 approved an RFID tag for humans called VeriChip, which allows healthcare workers to access a person's medical history in the event the person couldn't communicate. Those tags reportedly have been implanted in 2,000 people.

VeriChip also has clients around the world that want to use human implantation as a form of identification, Simitian said. The attorney general of Mexico and 18 of his staff members were implanted with chips to allow them to get into high-security areas, he said.

The technology industry refused to support the bill, SB 362, contending it was unnecessary.

San Jose Mercury News - Source

Company Pushes RFID Implants for Immigrants, Guest Workers

Scott Silverman, Chairman of the Board of VeriChip Corporation, has alarmed civil libertarians by promoting the company's subcutaneous human tracking device as a way to identify immigrants and guest workers. He appeared on the Fox News Channel earlier this week, the morning after President Bush called for high-tech measures to clamp down on Mexican immigrants.


Privacy advocates Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre are warning that a government-sanctioned chipping program such as that suggested by Silverman could quickly be expanded to include U.S. citizens, as well.


The VeriChip is a glass encapsulated Radio Frequency Identification tag that is injected into the flesh to uniquely number and identify people. The tag can be read silently and invisibly by radio waves from up to a foot or more away, right through clothing. The highly controversial device is also being marketed as a way to access secure areas, link to medical records, and serve as a payment device when associated with a credit card.


"Makers of VeriChip have been planning for this day. They've lost millions of dollars trying to sell their invasive product to North America, and now they see an opportunity in the desperation of the people of Latin America," Albrecht observes.


VeriChip's Silverman bandied about the idea of chipping foreigners on national television Tuesday, emboldened by the Bush Administration call to know "who is in our country and why they are here." He told Fox & Friends that the VeriChip could be used to register guest workers, verify their identities as they cross the border, and "be used for enforcement purposes at the employer level." He added, "We have talked to many people in Washington about using it...."

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