Posted on 02/12/2006 4:28:09 PM PST by wagglebee
An Ohio company has embedded silicon chips in two of its employees - the first known case in which US workers have been “tagged” electronically as a way of identifying them.
CityWatcher.com, a private video surveillance company, said it was testing the technology as a way of controlling access to a room where it holds security video footage for government agencies and the police.
Embedding slivers of silicon in workers is likely to add to the controversy over RFID technology, widely seen as one of the next big growth industries.
RFID chips – inexpensive radio transmitters that give off a unique identifying signal – have been implanted in pets or attached to goods so they can be tracked in transit.
“There are very serious privacy and civil liberty issues of having people permanently numbered,” said Liz McIntyre, who campaigns against the use of identification technology.
But Sean Darks, chief executive of CityWatcher, said the glass-encased chips were like identity cards. They are planted in the upper right arm of the recipient, and “read” by a device similar to a cardreader.
“There’s nothing pulsing or sending out a signal,” said Mr Darks, who has had a chip in his own arm. “It’s not a GPS chip. My wife can’t tell where I am.”
The technology’s defenders say it is acceptable as long as it is not compulsory. But critics say any implanted device could be used to track the “wearer” without their knowledge.
VeriChip – the US company that made the devices and claims to have the only chips that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration – said the implants were designed primarily for medical purposes.
So far around 70 people in the US have had the implants, the company said.
They don't?
>>>>Verisign doesn't have any info that isn't either given to it by its clients, or already in the public domain.
And you have no idea how much more truth are in those words than you realize.
Maintained. Not owned. And with NAIS representatives.
Verisign Corp was my typo.
I'm posting in between decorating Valentine cookies.
On what land? How are you going to pay your property taxes? 3-1/2 (assuming that's the true duration) in advance?
All products are periodically being updated and upgraded. I don't think they're done with the ultimate potential of it yet.
December 7, 2005
RFID IMPLANTS: FINE FOR THEE, BUT NOT FOR ME
Ex-HHS Head Puts Off Being Chipped Despite July Promise
Ex-Bush cabinet member Tommy Thompson still hasn't received an RFID implant despite a televised promise he made in July 2005 to do so. Shortly after joining the board of VeriChip Corporation last spring, the former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and four-term governor of Wisconsin told CNBC that he would "get chipped" with a VeriChip implant, but he has no plans to undergo the procedure anytime soon, according to recent revelations.
The VeriChip is a glass-encapsulated RFID device designed to be injected into human flesh for identification purposes and for use as a payment device.
In public appearances, Thompson has suggested injecting the microchips into Americans to link to their electronic medical records. "It's very beneficial and it's going to be extremely helpful and it's a giant step forward to getting what we call an electronic medical record for all Americans," he told CBS MarketWatch in July.
When confronted by a CNBC correspondent in another July interview about whether he would take a chip himself, Thompson replied, "Absolutely, without a doubt."
However, when authors Liz McIntyre and Katherine Albrecht, who researched human chipping for their book "Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Move with RFID," contacted the VeriChip Corporation on December 5, they were told that the chipping never took place.
VeriChip spokesman John Procter said Thompson has been "too busy" to undergo the chipping procedure, adding that he had no clear plans to do so in the future. "I wouldn't put any type of time line on it," Procter said.
¿O plomo o plata?
Thanks for the clarification. I was trying to keep it simple enough for our FRiend forrestroche.
A wasted effort, I suppose, but I did try.
¿O whatta?
Why dont they just do their jobs and watch what is supposed to be sensitive material? Just a thought...
Lead or Gold
bookmk ping for a.m. coffee [dunno 'bout this]
... perhaps it is just a Capitalist Pig opportunity, y'know ...
... lead foil stick-on patches to shield/interrupt... oh,wait [adjusting my tinFoil kufi]
... a little cottage $ideline ,... I'll work up a prototype
Sorry, but another person (or store) protecting their own property is not an infringement on my privacy. Using an implanted chip to scan me for the purposes of establishing my identity does.
"You have the right to remain silent..."
"Speak to the chip."
"Sorry, but another person (or store) protecting their own property is not an infringement on my privacy."
Well, at least you've dropped the illegal search portion, even though they electronically subject EVERYONE to this search, not only those they may suspect.
"Using an implanted chip to scan me for the purposes of establishing my identity does."
Not any more then a requirement to wear a visible ID badge does.
Where's Patrick McGoohan when you need him?
Thompson is still a tool for supporting the company in the first place. Thompson is a huge marketing campaign for the idea because he is ex-HHS.
Shortsightedness is epidemic in this country. The Bush administration has, IMHO, done a very good job of balancing liberty and security. However, does anyone believe that a Democrat President would do as well?
No, we have to jealously guard our liberties. Part of that involves limiting to the greatest extent possible government's intrusion into our privacy.
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