[Vision2020] Wal-Mart: radio-freq. merchandise(and purchaser) ID tags
Tim Lohrmann
timlohr@yahoo.com
Mon, 17 May 2004 10:17:36 -0700 (PDT)
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> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE from CASPIAN(Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering,) a grassroots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes since 1999, and item level RFID tagging since 2002.
>www.nocards.org and www. spychips.com
> May 11, 2004
>
> Wal-Mart Tries New PR Spin to Accompany Item-level RFID Tagging
> "Selling the technology with partial truths is unethical," says CASPIAN
>
> Despite widespread consumer opposition, Wal-Mart began item-level RFID
> (radio frequency identification) tagging of consumer goods last week as
> part of a trial in Texas. In an apparent effort to minimize the backlash
> to its use of RFID tags, Wal-Mart has also begun a public relations
> campaign to promote the technology that some are calling unethical.
>
> Shoppers at seven Dallas-Ft. Worth area Wal-Mart stores can walk into
> the consumer electronics department and find Hewlett-Packard products
> for sale with live RFID tags attached. Wal-Mart's public statements
> appear to leave open the possibility that other goods could be tagged
> with RFID as well.
>
> The giant retailer's decision to tag individual items on the store floor
> violates a call for a moratorium on such tagging issued last November by
> over 40 of the world's most respected privacy and civil liberties
> organizations. The move has sparked sharp criticism by the privacy
> community.
>
> "Wal-Mart is blatantly ignoring the research and recommendations of
> dozens of privacy experts," says Katherine Albrecht, Founder and
> Director of CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and
> Numbering). "When the world's largest retailer adopts a technology with
> chilling societal implications, and does so irresponsibly, we should all
> be deeply concerned."
>
> In addition to violating the call for a moratorium on RFID-tagged items
> in stores, Wal-Mart has begun a consumer education campaign that CASPIAN
> is calling unethical.
>
> "Read the FAQs at the Wal-Mart corporate web site and you'll find plenty
> of half truths," Albrecht says. "They call it consumer education, but
> the omissions and spin make it feel more like a calculated
> disinformation campaign."
>
> Albrecht provides the example of Wal-Mart's statement that RFID tags in
> its stores are harmless since they contain nothing more than
> identification numbers. "While technically that's true, Wal-Mart fails
> to explain what it means for items to carry remote-readable unique ID
> numbers. It's like saying someone's social security number is 'only' a
> number, so sharing it with perfect strangers should be of no concern."
>
> Albrecht explains that many major retailers today routinely link
> shoppers' identity information from credit, ATM and "loyalty" cards with
> product bar code numbers to record individuals' purchases over time. "If
> nothing is done to stop it, the same will happen with the unique RFID
> numbers on products. This means that if retailers can read an RFID tag
> on a product they previously sold you, they can identify you as you walk
> in the door and even pinpoint your location in their store as you shop,"
> she said.
>
> Albrecht also criticizes Wal-Mart for failing to tell consumers of the
> retailer's long-term goals for RFID. "The industry plan is to put an
> RFID tag on every product on Earth to identify and locate them at any
> time, anywhere. Wal-Mart is taking the first steps to creating a society
> where everything could be surveilled at all times. A shopper would
> hardly learn this by reading their website."
>
> With potentially billions of dollars riding on RFID, global corporations
> are eager to see it deployed. However, consumer acceptance has proved to
> be an obstacle.
>
> Procter & Gamble's own research suggests that 78 percent of consumers
> surveyed reacted negatively to the technology on privacy grounds and did
> not find industry reassurances compelling. Another industry study,
> published in January 2003, found similar misgivings among focus groups
> of consumers in the U.S., Germany, France, Japan and the UK.
>
> The most publicized trial of item-level RFID tagging to date, Metro-AG's
> "Future Store" in Rheinberg, Germany, met with massive consumer outcry
> earlier this year, culminating in a protest outside the store.
>
> "Wal-Mart may soon be facing a similar backlash," said Albrecht.
>
> ==========================================================
>
> The press has already begun to pick up the story:
>
> The Register, UK: "Wal-Mart attracts further RFID flak"
> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/12/wal_mart_rfid_flak/
>
> ==========================================================
>
> CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering)
> is a grass-roots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes
> since 1999, and item-level RFID tagging since 2002. With members in all
> 50 U.S. states and over 30 nations across the globe, CASPIAN seeks to
> educate consumers about marketing strategies that invade their privacy
> and to encourage privacy-conscious shopping habits across the retail
> spectrum.
>
> CASPIAN is guided by free market principles. Rather than look to
> lawmakers for solutions to the consumer privacy problem, we call on
> consumers to reject privacy-invading practices so that they fail in the
> marketplace.
>
> For more information, see
> http://www.spychips.com
> and
> http://www.nocards.org
>
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<DIV><BR>> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE from CASPIAN(Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering,) a grassroots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes since 1999, and item level RFID tagging since 2002. <BR>>www.nocards.org and www. spychips.com<BR>> May 11, 2004<BR>><BR>> Wal-Mart Tries New PR Spin to Accompany Item-level RFID Tagging<BR>> "Selling the technology with partial truths is unethical," says CASPIAN<BR>><BR>> Despite widespread consumer opposition, Wal-Mart began item-level RFID<BR>> (radio frequency identification) tagging of consumer goods last week as<BR>> part of a trial in Texas. In an apparent effort to minimize the backlash<BR>> to its use of RFID tags, Wal-Mart has also begun a public relations<BR>> campaign to promote the technology that some are calling unethical.<BR>><BR>> Shoppers at seven Dallas-Ft. Worth area Wal-Mart stores can walk into<BR>> the consumer electronics department and!
find
Hewlett-Packard products<BR>> for sale with live RFID tags attached. Wal-Mart's public statements<BR>> appear to leave open the possibility that other goods could be tagged<BR>> with RFID as well.<BR>><BR>> The giant retailer's decision to tag individual items on the store floor<BR>> violates a call for a moratorium on such tagging issued last November by<BR>> over 40 of the world's most respected privacy and civil liberties<BR>> organizations. The move has sparked sharp criticism by the privacy<BR>> community.<BR>><BR>> "Wal-Mart is blatantly ignoring the research and recommendations of<BR>> dozens of privacy experts," says Katherine Albrecht, Founder and<BR>> Director of CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and<BR>> Numbering). "When the world's largest retailer adopts a technology with<BR>> chilling societal implications, and does so irresponsibly, we should all<BR>> be deeply concerned."<BR>><BR!
>> In
addition to violating the call for a moratorium on RFID-tagged items<BR>> in stores, Wal-Mart has begun a consumer education campaign that CASPIAN<BR>> is calling unethical.<BR>><BR>> "Read the FAQs at the Wal-Mart corporate web site and you'll find plenty<BR>> of half truths," Albrecht says. "They call it consumer education, but<BR>> the omissions and spin make it feel more like a calculated<BR>> disinformation campaign."<BR>><BR>> Albrecht provides the example of Wal-Mart's statement that RFID tags in<BR>> its stores are harmless since they contain nothing more than<BR>> identification numbers. "While technically that's true, Wal-Mart fails<BR>> to explain what it means for items to carry remote-readable unique ID<BR>> numbers. It's like saying someone's social security number is 'only' a<BR>> number, so sharing it with perfect strangers should be of no concern."<BR>><BR>> Albrecht explains that many major retailers today ro!
utinely
link<BR>> shoppers' identity information from credit, ATM and "loyalty" cards with<BR>> product bar code numbers to record individuals' purchases over time. "If<BR>> nothing is done to stop it, the same will happen with the unique RFID<BR>> numbers on products. This means that if retailers can read an RFID tag<BR>> on a product they previously sold you, they can identify you as you walk<BR>> in the door and even pinpoint your location in their store as you shop,"<BR>> she said.<BR>><BR>> Albrecht also criticizes Wal-Mart for failing to tell consumers of the<BR>> retailer's long-term goals for RFID. "The industry plan is to put an<BR>> RFID tag on every product on Earth to identify and locate them at any<BR>> time, anywhere. Wal-Mart is taking the first steps to creating a society<BR>> where everything could be surveilled at all times. A shopper would<BR>> hardly learn this by reading their website."<BR>><BR>> With potentially !
billions
of dollars riding on RFID, global corporations<BR>> are eager to see it deployed. However, consumer acceptance has proved to<BR>> be an obstacle.<BR>><BR>> Procter & Gamble's own research suggests that 78 percent of consumers<BR>> surveyed reacted negatively to the technology on privacy grounds and did<BR>> not find industry reassurances compelling. Another industry study,<BR>> published in January 2003, found similar misgivings among focus groups<BR>> of consumers in the U.S., Germany, France, Japan and the UK.<BR>><BR>> The most publicized trial of item-level RFID tagging to date, Metro-AG's<BR>> "Future Store" in Rheinberg, Germany, met with massive consumer outcry<BR>> earlier this year, culminating in a protest outside the store.<BR>><BR>> "Wal-Mart may soon be facing a similar backlash," said Albrecht.<BR>><BR>> ==========================================================<BR>><BR>> The press has already begun to !
pick up
the story:<BR>><BR>> The Register, UK: "Wal-Mart attracts further RFID flak"<BR>> <A href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/12/wal_mart_rfid_flak/" target=_blank eudora="autourl">http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/12/wal_mart_rfid_flak/</A><BR>><BR>> ==========================================================<BR>><BR>> CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering)<BR>> is a grass-roots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes<BR>> since 1999, and item-level RFID tagging since 2002. With members in all<BR>> 50 U.S. states and over 30 nations across the globe, CASPIAN seeks to<BR>> educate consumers about marketing strategies that invade their privacy<BR>> and to encourage privacy-conscious shopping habits across the retail<BR>> spectrum.<BR>><BR>> CASPIAN is guided by free market principles. Rather than look to<BR>> lawmakers for solutions to the consumer privacy problem, we call on<BR>&!
gt;
consumers to reject privacy-invading practices so that they fail in the<BR>> marketplace.<BR>><BR>> For more information, see<BR>> <A href="http://www.spychips.com/" target=_blank eudora="autourl">http://www.spychips.com</A><BR>> and<BR>> <A href="http://www.nocards.org/" target=_blank eudora="autourl">http://www.nocards.org</A><BR>><BR></DIV><p>
<hr size=1><font face=arial size=-1>Do you Yahoo!?<br><a href="http://pa.yahoo.com/*http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=24311/*http://promo.yahoo.com/sbc/">SBC Yahoo!</a> - Internet access at a great low price.
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