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University of Washington Tracking the Edge of Privacy

Posted by Zonk on from the hey-there-big-brother-how-ya-doin dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "We've been told for several years that RFID tags would eventually be everywhere. This isn't the case yet, but researchers at the University of Washington would like to know if the future of social networking could be affected by these tags and check the balance between privacy and utility. They've deployed 200 antennas in one UW building and a dozen researchers are carrying RFID tags on them. According to the Seattle Times, all their moves are tracked every second in the building. Of course, it can be practical to know if a colleague is available for a cup of coffee but this kind of system (if in widespread use) has some serious implications. As the lead researcher said, 'what we want to understand is what makes it useful, what makes it threatening and how to balance the two.'"

4 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. Double Edged Sword by eldavojohn · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Of course, it can be practical to know if a colleague is available for a cup of coffee but this kind of system (if in widespread use) has some serious implications. As the lead researcher said, 'what we want to understand is what makes it useful, what makes it threatening and how to balance the two. Um, I kind of view this technology as being inherently double edged. You give someone the power to find you at any time. This can be used for convenience often. This can be used for your boss to track you down on Saturday. This can be used to set you up or murder you. There's a whole rainbow of possibilities, the latter listed are probably less probable but quite scary.

    Me, I hate it when people call me on my cell phone. Oftentimes I don't answer, my phone has never been off vibrate. I wouldn't opt for this technology at any point in my life for any reason. Other people may feel differently and more power to them. I don't understand why research is needed to see that, perhaps there are more caveats I don't see. But if you're thinking about making this mandatory under the guise of security or comfort, you're going to be tracking my RFID tag in a garbage can.
    --
    My work here is dung.
  2. Tinfoil hat time... by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There's an interesting 2-page ad for the U.S. Air Force running in magazines this month - page 1 is a picture of a crowd, mother carrying a baby, etc., caption reads "How do you fight an enemy who hides among the innocent?". Turn the page, there's a picture of a Predator UAV flying over a city, caption reads: "Never let them out of your sight".

    I'll leave you to decide who "them" is.

    --
    No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  3. StephenGillie by StephenGillie · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The University of Washington (UW) has other plans involving RFID. Currently, UW sells bus passes to students; these are represented by a sticker that is applied to a student's "Husky Card". The Husky Card is a magnetic swipe card that controls building access and also provides dining card functionality to students. The plan is to replace the current Husky Cards with an RFID-implanted one. This would allow the cards to integrate into the local Seattle Metro and Community Transit bus services' ORCA system, which uses an RFID system to track fares and passes. A little-mentioned affect on privacy is how RFID antennas could easily be placed around campus and around Seattle, tracking students as they go about their lives.

  4. long ago at the media lab by bobkoure · · Score: 1, Interesting

    The MIT Media Lab had a tracking system in the '80s (and may or may not still have it).
    It was used mostly for telephone routing - if you were in a room and the phone rang, it was for you.