[e-privacy] EU calls for RFID privacy enhancements

[Cyberiade.it Anonymous Remailer]

Da http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15287908/

Updated: 9:52 a.m. ET Oct. 16, 2006

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Europeans need to be reassured that radio frequency
identification chips won't betray their privacy and can be turned off if
desired, EU Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding said Monday.

RFID chips can be used to automatically identify and verify passports,
luggage, livestock or pharmaceuticals and have a wide range of potential
uses — from telling doctors what medicines patients have been given to
instantly pointing out food that is past its sell-by date.

But Europeans are worried about whether the chips will unwittingly
broadcast people's personal information, Reding said at a conference in
Brussels.

The European market for RFID is growing at a slower pace than in other
regions even though countries such as Germany already insert the chips
into passports.  The United States is incorporating the technology in
passports as well.

Reding said European industry and regulators have to respond better to
people's privacy concerns.  She said this was clear from groups and
individuals who had responded to a recent EU call for comments on ways
to go forward with RFID.

"The large majority are willing to be convinced that RFID can bring
benefits but they want to be reassured that it will not compromise their
privacy," she said.  "This is the deal that we have to strike if we want
RFID to be accepted and widely taken up."

She said people need to keep control of how their information is used
and updated — and how the tags can be turned off.

"Clear labeling of tags or the option to disable or destroy them
electronically will be an important part of our protective armor,"
Reding said.  "The consultation shows that people are mainly afraid of
losing control, of not being able to choose when and how they are
exposed to risks."

Only 15 percent of the 2,190 groups and individuals who answered the EU
survey thought the industry's efforts to regulate itself would be
enough.

The European Commission could put forward a draft law on the subject in
2007.