[...]An RFID reader transmits an encoded radio signal to interrogate the tag. The RFID tag receives the message and then responds with its identification and other information. This may be only a unique tag serial number, or may be product-related information such as a stock number, lot or batch number, production date, or other specific information. Since tags have individual serial numbers, the RFID system design can discriminate among several tags that might be within the range of the RFID reader and read them simultaneously.
[...]
The next 24 bits are an object class, identifying the kind of product; the last 36 bits are a unique serial number for a particular tag. These last two fields are set by the organization that issued the tag. Rather like a
URL, the total electronic product code number can be used as a key into a global database to uniquely identify a particular product.
[14]
[...]
The
Food and Drug Administration in the United States has approved the use of
RFID chips in humans.
[44] Some business establishments give customers the option of using an RFID-based tab to pay for service, such as the
Baja Beach nightclub in
Barcelona.
[45] This has provoked concerns into privacy of individuals as they can potentially be tracked wherever they go by an identifier unique to them. Some are concerned this could lead to abuse by an authoritarian government, to removal of freedoms,
[46] and to the emergence of an "ultimate
panopticon", a society where all citizens behave in a socially accepted manner because others might be watching.
[47]
On July 22, 2006, Reuters reported that two hackers, Newitz and Westhues, at a conference in New York City showed that they could clone the RFID signal from a human implanted RFID chip, showing that the chip is not hack-proof as was previously claimed.
[48] Privacy advocates have protested against implantable RFID chips, warning of potential abuse. There is much controversy regarding human applications of this technology, and many conspiracy theories abound in relation to human applications, especially one of which is referred to as "
The Mark of the Beast" in some religious circles.
[...]
The unique identity is a mandatory requirement for RFID tags, despite special choice of the numbering scheme. RFID tag data capacity is large enough that each individual tag will have a unique code
[...]
If a tagged item is paid for by credit card or in conjunction with use of a
loyalty card, then it would be possible to indirectly deduce the identity of the purchaser by reading the globally unique ID of that item (contained in the RFID tag). This is only true if the person doing the watching also had access to the loyalty card data and the credit card data, and the person with the equipment knows where you are going to be.
[...]
