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UK Home Office plan: ID Chips in Everything

Posted by michael on from the infopocalypse dept.

LauraLolly writes "The BBC ran an article on how booksellers in the UK hope to use Radio Frequency ID chips to report on the entire life cycle of a book, including ownership and second-hand sales. There were throw-away lines about how the Home Office plans to use these chips in all goods, and their current use in U. S. libraries. And you thought that voluntary medical chips were bad..."

5 of 213 comments (clear)

  1. Please, not more of this crap... by slipgun · · Score: 5, Informative

    The UK government already want to put something in your car which tracks your movements (and there is a camera system which more or less does just that on the M25). The police are already entitled to break up a meeting of more than three people on a whim (Prevention of Terrorism Act 2000). They can see what you are looking at on the net, they control who gets to own weapons (apart from criminals, of course). And now they want to control what books you can read. (No, I know that this article didn't mention that, but seriously, of course they're going to try and do it if they think they can). Blunkett is a dangerous man, and I am so afraid of what this government is trying to do that I am going to be voting for The Other Lot next time round.

    I am really starting to hate what this country is becoming. Is it any better over your side of the pond? Failing that, maybe it's time to move to the Far East...

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  2. Re:The next market opportunity... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    The 5th protects you from testifying against yourself, not concealing evidence. If you locked papers in a box, they could force you to give them the key.

  3. Re:"Ownership" of goods by brunes69 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Except in communism, nothing is owned, but everything is free. We are heading to where nothing is owned, but everything is rented.

  4. More info on RFID Tags by bihoy · · Score: 3, Informative

    The Fowler Company, makers of the TagLogic RFID Tagging System says on their product page:

    Tags retain data for a minimum of 10 years, and have a minimum of 100,000 read/write cycles. They are impervious to electrical noise, magnetism, dirt and grime and all but the most extreme temperature conditions.
    Apparently these devices can withstand temperatures of up to 105C!

    1. Re:More info on RFID Tags by wirelessbuzzers · · Score: 2, Informative

      A friend of mine was working on something like this tag. His company was designing a tag which was passive like the Fowler tag, but I think it did not have any rewrite capabilities, and he said the range was on the order of tens of meters. He said the tags were nearly invincible and cost only a couple cents apiece. This sort of thing would be much better for widespread usage than the other tags, although you couldn't record on the tag when it was sold... you'd have to do that on the internet or something.

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