Privacy protection is not a luxury, RFID industry told

The National Consumer Council (NCC) has called on government and businesses to put privacy at the heart of RFID technology or risk a consumer backlash that could set back adoption of the technology.

The NCC today published its report into the technology, Calling in the chips?, and warned that industry was ignoring its responsibility to the consumer in its rush to get the benefits of the tracking tags.

One of the Council's main concerns is that the current regulatory framework isn't up to the task of protecting consumers' privacy and, while talk of self-regulation is no bad thing in general, the current measures being touted by RFID users aren't up to adequately protecting the consumer.

Given that some applications of RFID can be intrusive but don't necessarily use consumers' personal data, it's possible that retailers using the technology to track or monitor consumers won't be breaking the Data Protection Act, for example.

The NCC reckons it's down to the Office of the Information Commissioner and the Department for Constitutional Affairs to sort out the mess. The report says the two "need to investigate whether existing regulation adequately covers the use of RFID technology in different contexts and sectors."

Another issue that the Council wants to see addressed is the exclusion of consumers across the board when introducing the technology. With most consumers not even aware of what the technology is, let alone if it poses a threat to their privacy, retailers are free to use the tags as they choose.

"The NCC believes that RFID technology will pose significant challenges to consumer privacy, unless concerted action is taken now," the report says. "Privacy-protection must be built into the technology and its applications and must not be seen as an add-on luxury."