Posted on 03/13/2003 10:46:10 AM PST by fight_truth_decay
Fashion designers from New York to Milan have filled the runways in recent weeks with all the latest Spring looks. Hemlines are up, heel heights are down and pink is all the rage. But regardless of what you think of this season's haute couture you should be made aware of a trend that's catching on... it could make you think twice before buying new clothes. Tiny specks capable of tracking virtually every single item are now being imbedded by manufacturers. This Orwellian technology, called RFID (radio frequency ID) will now be used by Italian clothing designer Benetton in the form of trackable chips woven into it's apparel. The chips, which function as itty bitty radio transmitters will be inserted when the clothes are made and will remain intact throughout the life of the garment. According to chip manufacturer Philips Electronics, the devices will be "imperceptible" to the wearer.
Sound like something out of a futuristic sci-fi thriller? Welcome to your brave, new world.
Benetton is not alone in implementing this frighteningly invasive technology. Gillette has already purchased 500 million of these tracking devices and starting in July will imbed them in shaving cream and razors sold at Wal Mart stores. The chipped items will sit atop "smart" shelves that will work in unison with the chipped products to tell Gillette and Wal Mart all kinds of things; and the info-gathering doesn't end there. As an extra added bonus ,when shoppers take their Big Brother -branded purchases home (and wherever RFID "readers" are located,) their purchase will be tracked. RFID Journal touts the technology as a way to eliminate bar codes, cut down on labor costs and theft and says it will be a boon to inventory control.
The founder and director of a group called C.A.S.P.I.A.N. (Consumers Against Privacy Invasion And Numbering) sees it differently. Katherine Albrecht, a Harvard University doctoral candidate says what Benetton, Gillette and over 90 of the world's biggest corporations are doing, in essence, is "registering" those products to you. Albrecht has been warning us about this for years. She says consumers have no idea that these RFID chips actually track the owner .. " then anytime you (go) near an RFID reader device the (product) would beam out your identity to anyone with access to a database - all without your permission".
Think this is waaaay out there? It's not. According to a 2001 INFORMATIONWEEK article on the RFID scheme, proponents are looking ahead to a seamless, network of millions of RFID receivers in airports, stores and even your home. And remember, you can't turn these things off.
Benetton, which had sales of over $2 billion last year apparently thinks spending the 25 cents to 50 cents per chip will be money well -spent. The company has ordered 15 million chips for starters. So along with your mock turtleneck you'll be getting an RFID gizmo which operates at 13.56 MHz, and stores 512 bits of information. RFID Journal says "unless there is a big public outcry, Benetton is not going to be the last retailer to adopt RFID".
Did you get that? IF NOBODY GETS UPSET ABOUT THIS IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN! Don't just SIT there, DO something...Be part of that "big public outcry" they doubt will happen 'cause you're either catatonic from too much TV, or you just plain don't care.
Know that the likes of Kimberly Clarke, Coca- Cola, Philip Morris, Target, the U.S. Department Of Defense and the United States Postal Service (just think of the implications of THAT!) are watching this Benetton thing very carefully. They're poised to begin their own chipping programs in the not-too-distant future.
Where is all this technology coming from? From the brilliant minds at MIT's Auto-ID Center. In just a few years the center has raked in tons of money from some heavy-duty global corporations who are raring to go on this. The effects of this RFID technology are truly chilling. Consumers wouldn't be able to escape the watchful eye of manufacturers, retailers and marketers. Law enforcement would have a field day with this as well. Individual's behavior could be monitored to the nth degree.
So what can YOU do about it?
Spread the word. Boycott Benetton.... (Gillette, too, while you're at it) and make sure they know you've stopped buying their products and WHY.
Get educated. Check out C.A.S.P.I.A.N.'s web site: at http://www.nocards.org/. It's a good place to start.
Call your local media (radio talk show hosts, newspaper editors, TV stations).
And think about going naked. Katherine Albrecht has. She says "I'd rather go naked than wear clothes with spy chips".
As for me, I have no problem wearing the old stuff I have hanging in my closet. I might not make any new fashion statements but I'll be making a statement that doesn't ever go out of style in a free society. My statement's summed very well in something called the 4th Amendment.
Related Articles: Benetton Clothing To Carry Tiny Tracking Transmitters AP
Mary Starrett was on television for 21 years as a news anchor, morning talk show host and medical reporter. For the last 5 years she hosted a radio program. Mary is a frequent guest on radio talk shows. E-Mail M123STAR@aol.com
The system went into operation but never came close to meeting the marketing projections, so the partners wrote off their investment and made plans to de-orbit all the satellites. This was the status 2 or 3 years ago.
Then at the last minute, two things happened. A group of investors with a new business model stepped up and was able to purchase the facilities at a few cents on the dollar, and they snagged a big contract from the US military which helped to meet expenses. So the system is still in operation, but marketed in a different way. As an example, they now have an Iridium phone package for corporate aircraft.
They can continue to buy satellites from Motorola, which established a production line for them. The satellites are small and cheap compared to a mainline comm satellite; of course, the launch is still expensive, but the Russians, Chinese, and French have all orbited Iridiums (without a single launch failure!) and the larger boosters can put up several at a time.
I knew the original Iridium CEO slightly, before Iridium was formed.
Once you're ID'd you have a space in their database.
(1) On the web, whenever asked to provide information about yourself (age, gender, ethnic group, likes, dislikes, name, address, whatever -- lie. And use a different lie each time.
(2) Create some "throw away" free email addresses. Use those when signing up for forums, bulletin boards, etc.
(3) When you are at a store and buy something and they ask for your phone number, go ahead. Just transpose randomly the last 4 digits.
(4) Pay for a "Mailboxes Etc." box -- or a similar service. Use that address when you need to sign up for a web service where you need to give a legitimate address (for example, you are doing job search on job boards.)
(5) Pay for any purchases that you would not want traced to you with cash, of course. But really, no one is going to care if you buy Dockers pants, you know.
(6) Whenever money might become trackable, just get larger bills and use them whenever you buy fast food. The change will not be traceable to you as an individual.
(7) Don't use a wireless network for your home, no matter how convenient. Use the routers that work off your phone lines (preferred if you have several home jacks that use the same phone line) or home electical system (okay, but anyone on the same side of your local transformer - the little one - can tap your traffic. This just means your nearest 4 to 8 neighbors, usually.)
(8) Make sure that whenever you send in warranty cards, or sign up for magazine subscriptions, that you use different middle initials and misspell your first or last name slightly (Jon Smith, John Smith, John Smythe, Jon Smythe, etc.)
Of course, if you don't care if the great global conglomerate knows about you, ignore the above. But if you do, remember that garbage in == garbage out. Once your personal data is filed in 100's of different ways, data mining is ineffective in pulling the data related to you personally - because you are listed under so many different name, address, and phone number variations that you no longer exist.
There are some RFID devices that are designed to "blow" when overloaded with a microwave source so as to disable them after a purchase. However, I wouldn't count on it destroying all the RFID variants.
How does one electronically sterilize the offending garments?
If it were me, I'd find the RFID's chip and/or antenna and break either or both. Most of these antennae are foil devces having a spiral-like look to them. While it is possible to print an antenna using conductive ink, printed antennae are likely to dissolve with repeated washings.
Will the materials be included in shaving cream itself?
No, nor will RFID devices be in any can. I'd guess that they're slated for the packaging or adhered to the outside of a product.
Are the manufacturers obligated to disclose the use of the devices?
No.
Would a tinfoil lined shopping bag defeat security tracking?
Any metal container is likely to thwart an RFID device as long as it adequately blocks radio waves or magnetic fields (depending on the particular RFID technology).
No, nor will RFID devices be in any can. I'd guess that they're slated for the packaging or adhered to the outside of a product.
Tinfoil hat aside, I see retail potential here. Assuming the RFID only broadcasts a generic SKU or Barcode, it would help in maintaining inventory and would be fairly useless in tracking people specifically. At best, all retailers could tell would be that you're wearing Gap Khakis and a T-Shirt, and just picked up a can of shaving cream. It's an advertisers dream - "Hey You! I see that you just picked up shaving cream! Can I offer you razor blades as well?". However, I don't see it as the threat to individual privacy that everyone else does. At worst, it's an annoyance that will ultimately result in consumer backlash - akin to McD's workers asking 'if you want fries with that'. Also - if you read the article, you'll see that the offending device is in the tag. Last time I checked, tags can be removed. And for the truly paranoid, there's not too many devices that can handle a decent EMP Pulse (Although if my wife ever saw me microwaving my laundry, she'd call the looney bin!)
I would like to add that some people on this thread don't know what barcodes are....look at one & you'll see a bunch of numbers on it - numbers that would likely be broadcast by the RFID chip. That's all the retail barcode represents, as a rule. I didn't say that retailers couldn't make it unique, but the system, as it exists now, doesn't allow for the same type of goods to have unique barcodes.
You seem to have expended a lot of energy in derision of a concept that needs an awareness raised in those who care about such things. The chip (mark) will enter most sheeple because they've been trained to accept it.
At what point is it easiest to stop a freight train with no working brakes; at the top of the grade, or near the bottom of the mountain?
That's enough to create a 64 character ID # (or 4 16 character #s) which can be puched into a database full of all kinds of goodies.
SS#, medical, criminal, credit card #s etc. Think about it.
Probably, but it could also get you arrested for possession of a device designed to defeat anti-shoplifting tags. And yes, such laws do exist -- as do shoplifters with foil-lined bags and coats.
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