RFID Tags and Consumer Products

Spencer Timmerman
COMM 2500
5/2/2016

RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification. It lets retailers and manufacturers keep track of
inventory with greater efficiency and increasingly lower costs. There are two parts to RFID
technology, the tag and the reader. RFID tags are tiny computer chips that contain identifying
data and sometimes other information. Each tag is attached to a small transmitting antenna. An
RFID tag can be as small as a grain of rice, making it easy to embed in products or product
packaging easily. (Radio Frequency Identification)
To read the information on the RFID tags, you need an RFID reader. An RFID reader sends out
radio waves which prompt tags to send back information stored on them. The read distance for
RFID technology varies on both the tag and the reader. However, most RFID tags today are only
effective for a short distance. (Radio Frequency Identification)
There are many different uses for RFID tags and the technology is expanding. Theyre getting
cheaper and cheaper as time goes on (Garfinkel), and more and more people are adopting it.
However, there are also serious privacy concerns to consider. The ability of RFID tags to catalog
and number consumers and their patterns is nearly limitless. Ill look at both the advantages
RFID tags provide now and can possibly provide, as well as what threat they pose or may pose in
the near future.

The Abilities of RFID Technology

RFID technology can improve our life in many different ways. One way is in increased security.
RFID technologies for cars, have had a significant impact on automobile theft over the past
decade. (Garfinkel) The earlier mentioned near limitless tracking abilities of RFIDs has led to
motivated RFID proliferation in security systems. (Eckfeldt)
RFID technology can even make our food safer. An RFID recorder is perfect for temperature
mapping and cold chain management of seafood and agricultural products. (ASADI) Because of
this, RFIDs can be used to create more accurate expiration dates, and make sure the food is never
on the shelf too long.
RFID technology can make our lives more convenient. The EZ-Pass toll-collection system and
ExxonMobil Corp.s Speedpass system both make it incredibly easy to perform a task without
conscious thought. (Eckfeldt) Who wants to slow down on the highway, roll down the window
and pay the collector? Its very inconvenient, and these systems make toll roads less of a pain
then they were before.
A more interesting example of RFID tags being used for customer convenience is the Bar Soba
Nightclub in Glasgow, Scotland. Theyve made RFID tags with credit card information on them
available for regular customers. This tag can be placed under the skin which then allows the
party goer to pay for his drinks without the hassle of getting out his credit card. (Eckfeldt)
RFID technologies of course can be used by manufactures and relators to track inventory levels
and manage replenishment in thousands of retail outlets (Eckfeldt) This is a great advantage for
these corporations and help them save money, but for the average consumer the benefit isnt so
obvious, and it is seen as a detriment to privacy. This is where we shift to the plight of privacy.
3

How RFID Technology Threatens Consumer Privacy

There have been a few cases of RFID technology being used to track consumers and their
choices. One of the most famous and widely cited examples of this is the Broken Arrow Affair.
(Freeman) A Wal-Mart in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, equipped Max Factor Lipfinity lipstick
containers with RFID tags:
In its Cincinnati headquarters, Procter & Gamble researchers detected when consumers
removed lipsticks from the shelves. That action triggered a video monitor, which allowed
researchers to watch consumers as they handled the lipstick. (Freeman)
Consumers were notified of the experiment that was being performed, but that didnt stop public
outcry. When the word got out, a coalition of 35 consumer privacy and civil liberties groups
called, Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN) pushed
back against the program. Wal-Mart pulled it.
Even then though, Wal-Mart wasnt done with RFID technology. In 2004 Wal-Mart announced
that its top 100 suppliers would be required to put an RFID tracking device inside every pallet or
case delivered to a Wal-Mart warehouse by January 2005. (Garfinkel) While Wal-Mart insisted
that these were for internal use only, certain products would have RFIDs inside the packaging.
Because of this lack of transparency law makers have been stepping up. In 2004 the Utah House
of Representatives passed the first ever RFID privacy bill; the Radio Frequency Identification
Right to Know Act. (Utah Legislature) This law wouldve made it a requirement for any product
containing an RFID tag to include a label warning the consumer of the tag. House Sponsor David
Hogue said, without laws to ensure consumer privacy, retailers will be tempted to match the
data gathered by RFID readers with consumers personal information. (Freeman)
4

Despite its support in the house and passing 47 23, it didnt make it out of the Senate, and was
never signed into law. (Utah Legislature) In New Mexico a year later, a bill that wouldve
required realtors to remove or disable RFID tags on purchase was tabled in committee.
(Freeman) It seems that despite best efforts, laws restricting RFID technology dont get passed.
Simson Garfinkel called for a RFID consumer Bill of Rights. While he admits his ideas and
recommendations are reflected in EPC guidelines, he is disappointed, and says they are watered
down, and ineffective:
For example, EPC guidelines say that consumers should have the right to know if an
EPC tag is inside a product that is purchased, but they dont have a right to know about
the presence of readers in a store or other public place. Instead of giving consumers the
right to have a tag removed or deactivated, the guidelines say that consumers merely have
to be told whether they have such a right. When you look closely at the wording, it
becomes clear that consumers dont really have that right at all. (Garfinkel)
Simson is not the only one to express concerns over RFID privacy. Katherine Albrecht of the
aforementioned CASPIAN organization said on NPR:
We would like to see a label on every product containing one of these chips clearly
stating, `Warning: This product can be remotely tracked because it contains an RFID
chip.' I think that right off the bat, that would be enough to scare most consumers away
from these products, and rightly so. (Development)

Conclusion
RFID is an incredible technology with many possibilities. Already its being put to great use in
every sector of our economy. It makes our lives safer and more efficient. However, it also
threatens something that we often take for granted; our privacy. This isnt the first time privacy
and technological advance have come into conflict. In the information age, our digital footprint is
being tracked, monitored, and sold by corporations we dont even notice.
RFID technology is most definitely not to be rejected altogether. Most people dont believe that.
From making cars harder to steal, from making it easier to pay for a drink, RFID technology has
made life convenient in more ways than one. However, many people dont approve of big supermarket stores tracking our purchases just to increase their bottom line. RFIDs implanted in
consumer products are an ethical challenge for the pundits and politicians of our time.
One things for sure; RFIDs are only the latest technology in an ongoing pattern. As soon as one
technology is secured, another new technology comes to threaten privacy. How this example of
privacy threatening technology will turn out is one for the future to decide.

Bibliography:
"Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2016):
1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Web. 2 May 2016.
Garfinkel, Simson. "RFID Rights." MIT Technology Review. Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, 03 Nov. 2004. Web. 2 May 2016.
Eckfeldt, Bruce. "What Does Rfid Do For The Consumer?." Communications Of The ACM 48.9
(2005): 77-79. Business Source Premier. Web. 2 May 2016.
ASADI, Gholamhassan, and Ebrahim HOSSEINI. "Cold Supply Chain Management In
Processing Of Food And Agricultural Products." Scientific Papers: Series D, Animal
Science - The International Session Of Scientific Communications Of The Faculty Of
Animal Science 42.(2014): 223-227. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 May 2016.
Freeman, Edward H. "Rfids And Personal Privacy." Information Systems Security 16.1 (2007):
61-64. Computer Source. Web. 2 May 2016.
Utah Legislature. House of Representitives. House Business and Labor Committee. H.B. 251
Radio Frequency Identification - Right to Know Act. Utah State Legislature. Web. 2 May
2016.
Development Of Controversial Radio Frequency Identification Technology To Be Placed On
Consumer Products That Can Be Tracked By The Manufacturer. n.p.r.: National Public
Radio, 2003. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 May 2016.