Issue #198 | July 2, 2009 | by Monica Kowl
When celebrating America’s Independence Day, I think not just of the fight for freedom some 230 years ago, but the liberty we enjoy on a daily basis. Seeing news of people around the world where freedom is in short supply makes me appreciate this holiday even more.
But sometimes when I mention I work at
RFID Switchboard, I’m met with the fear we are working to take away the liberty of Americans, and others around the world.
As part of my duty here, I review videos to post in
RFID Theater. It amazes me that two out of every three videos I see on YouTube, keyword “RFID,” are anti-RFID. And every video that shows positive implementations is met with an uproar of YouTube members denouncing it. In the first comment posted under the great IBM Future Markets commercial, AztecaJose advises, “say no to the chips it will destroy your freedom.” Now I don’t usually value wisdom from random Joes, or Jose’s; but what causes 144 comments on this video alone to be anti-RFID? Many quote the bible and warn RFID is “the mark of the beast.”
The most prominent anti-RFID site is spychips.com. Parts of it are almost laughable to someone in the industry. I can see how headlines like “WISCONSIN BANS FORCED HUMAN RFID CHIPPING” instill fear in the general public, as if Wisconsin ever did such a thing. They use half quotes from valid sources and use classic fear tactics to scare the reader into hatred of everything RFID.
I've seen countless articles on how RFID can be negatively used in the future. Still on cNet.com from 2003, Declan McCallagh asks, “Could we be constantly tracked through our clothes, shoes or even our cash in the future? . . . It becomes unnervingly easy to imagine a scenario where everything you buy that's more expensive than a Snickers will sport RFID tags. . . Future burglars could canvass alleys with RFID detectors.”
Most of my friends and acquaintances are quite paranoid about RFID. It scares them that something they own, unbeknownst to them, may have a tracking chip in. Why
wouldn't that sound scary? This fear of being tracked by RFID is fueled by the unknown, and encouraged by idiocracy. Marie Curie said, “Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.” The fear of the unknown is especially true about RFID.
I’m not saying this technology could not cause problems if used with evil intent. I sure don’t want any nation-wide RFID tracking of people.
Sometimes in conversation I'll use the line we've written here that your phone is, technically, RFID. One friend, upon hearing this, frantically looked at his phone in horror. “You mean people can track me if I have my cell?!” I responded, laughing, that I simply meant the cell phone communicates in Radio Frequency and contains a unique ID, his phone number. Besides explaining it fits the pure definition, I pointed out that yes, you can absolutely be tracked by your cell phone, not because of RFID, because it contains GPS.
Unfortunate results of the fear campaign
For months, beginning before I got here,
RFID Switchboard kept getting phone calls from a young man convinced an RFID chip had been implanted in his brain without his knowledge or permission. He needed "to talk to the Command Center," which he assumed
RFID Switchboard was. We tried to calm him, suggesting he get x-rayed or cat-scanned. Turns out he had! He asked how such chips get implanted and we explained that this could not have happened without his knowledge.
One day, I get a message on Facebook from an old high school friend concerned I worked at
RFID Switchboard. He said "people on RFID communications told me to go there;" and how the implant made him sick; and gave him "fake diseases and viruses," mentioning polyps, cancer and AIDS. He wrote "that little RFID chips broadcast a signal which works with your brainwaves.” After laughing and writing him back, telling him how he reminded me of this psycho that’s always calling our office, I realized something. My old friend
was the psycho that was contacting our company!
I have learned that many people have the same opinions as my crazy old friend, though usually not so extreme. How could this be?
Conspiracy? If only. . .
Working for
RFID Switchboard about two years now, I've dealt with many of the leading RFID companies. From where I sit, this industry just isn’t organized enough to have some sort of conspiracy. Who has the time? I can barely get a banner ad or company profile information from the companies paying us for that information to be up on our site.
In an article on government affairs, HP said it well. “Being visible about RFID use will breed confidence in the technology, while being secretive will heighten the misconceptions.” RFID is used daily in peoples' lives, yet most know nothing about it. They are being fed anger and fear.
As we celebrate America’s independence Saturday, I’m grateful we have the freedom to say whatever we want about RFID or anything else. Still, some of us need to do a better job of making people understand RFID need not be feared, which may raise the level of that conversation.
