Radio ID Chips To Come With Kill Switch

from the good-idea dept

Well, how about that? Something that's been proposed a bunch of times in the past, and which actually makes sense, may actually happen. Manufacturers and the industry group behind RFID chips are saying that they'll support a "kill switch" in the chips. One of the fears about RFID chips is that they would keep broadcasting forever, and allow marketers or criminals (and sometimes both!) the ability to get a lot of information out of you that you might not want them to get. Imagine walking down the street and having the store you're passing be aware of where you bought all your clothes and how much you paid for them. Of course, an even better solution would be to give consumers full control over the RFID chips and what they're used for after the product has been purchased. There are plenty of reasons why someone might want to leave an RFID chip on (the article mentions that the chip could include washing instructions, for example). They can also be used to track your own clothing "inventory" in your house, or to check on warranty information, or any other potential use. However, if others can scan them and get information, there's a privacy threat. Figuring out a way to give consumers the ability to control how RFID chips are used seems like a much more functional way about this.

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