RFID Law Blog

From http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/2360/1/1/:

Some government observers, however, say the report's potential effect may be limited. "The impact of the report is more public relations value against the use of RFID in applications related to tracking individuals, like e-passports or I-94 forms," says Douglas Farry, a managing director of McKenna, Long & Aldridge, a nationwide law firm focused on the intersection of public policy and technology. "There is no statutory or mandatory authority associated with these reports--it's just ammunition for those who might want Congress or the DHS itself to limit or prevent RFID from being used for [tracking individuals]."

"Whether it is RFID or any other kind of automatic identification system, the same privacy and security issues are at stake," he says, noting that they should all be addressed equally. The report's value, he adds, is that it "speaks to the need to have this kind of evaluation before large public announcements are made by government agencies that they are rolling out certain programs."

I agree with Jim Harper that the RFID business community should use this opportunity to engage with the privacy community and resolve the issues of how to use RFID securely -- to avoid damaging the reputation of the industry. Although, I will acknowledge, that some privacy advocates are easier to work with than others -- you can't just capitulate to anyone or any organization that calls themselves pro-privacy. I know Jim Harper, and he is just as interested in seeing businesses succeed as he is in seeing privacy protected.