Senators Target RFID: Hang On To Your Wallet

Here's bad news for anyone interested in RFID: The Senate now has an "RFID Caucus" focusing on the technology. And any time that happens, it usually means bad regulations, more taxes, and overall inanity. eWeek reports that Byron Dorgan, a Democrat Senator from North Dakota, and John Cornyn, a Republican Senator from Texas, launched the caucus, and held the first meeting on July 13.

From all accounts, the meeting was more an industry love-fest than anything else. IBM and Verisign were there to show off various technologies, as were other vendors. Much talk of future benefits was heard, no doubt. It was a mini trade show of sorts, with hardware and software makers showing off their goods.

It all sounds very cozy.

One disturbing note was that not a single person apparently asked a question about privacy issues. And that's worrisome.

RFID does, in fact, hold out enormous benefits. But there are also significant privacy issues that need to be explored, notably whether it will be used to track people, and how the information it can gather will be used.Any caucus that holds its first meeting and doesn't invite anyone concerned about privacy is headed in the wrong direction. It could signal that the caucus is little more than an industry shill. And it may indicate that all the caucus cares about is figuring out a way to get tax money out of the technology, and make sure that it has as little privacy regulation as possible.

There will be a battle over RFID and privacy, like it or not. And the sooner the industry and Congress recognize that, the better, so that smart, minimal regulations can be drawn up to ensure that information and the technology is not misused.

But to ignore the privacy implications, as the caucus may be doing, is to invite disaster, because it will only bring out the conspiracy theorists who will push for draconian regulation. And that will hurt the industry in the long run.