Delivered-To: dfarber+@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sat, 27 Sep 2003 20:52:56 -0700
From: Denise Caruso <caruso@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: 'Don't Fear New Bar Codes,' USA Today
X-Sender: caruso1320@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: farber@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dave,
Don't know if you saw this piece in USA Today last week on EPCs. A friend
(also the author) just sent it to me. Thought it might be interesting to
see what IP folks think of it. I "hear him," as we say here in California,
but I don't agree. Then again I never have been big on ubiquitous
surveillance, or the products that could enable it. You'll forgive me if
the MIT guidelines don't make me feel happier about embracing EPC-ed
products. You'll forgive me if I have a deep distrust of anyone who claims
to be ensuring that my (consumer/citizen) interests will be "paramount."
Particularly at this particular moment in history.
Yrs in anticipation of the day when eternal vigilance doesn't have to be
quite so bloody vigilant,
Denise
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20030925/5532478s.htm
Don't fear new bar codes
By Larry Downes
''The risk it poses to humanity is on a par with nuclear weapons,''
Katherine Albrecht says.
The deadly new threat Albrecht, the founder of Consumers Against Shopping
Privacy Invasion and Numbering, is talking about: the latest development
in retail technology, a new generation of bar codes called electronic
product codes (EPC). These tiny bar codes send and receive data using
radio waves, eliminating manual scanning.
This new technology will lower prices, improve selections and supplies,
eliminate counterfeits (especially prescription drugs) and reduce theft.
Eventually, it will help customers maintain and replace products from a
carton of milk to the refrigerator that holds it.
The first generation of bar codes has helped do that for nearly 30 years.
But if misguided privacy alarmists have their way, the benefits of the
next generation of bar codes may be denied or delayed.
Privacy advocates are concerned that retailers and manufacturers will use
EPC (also called radio frequency identification tags) to track our every
purchase, monitor products after they leave the store and use that
information without our knowledge.
No one likes the thought of being under constant surveillance by either
the government or corporate interests. Yet it's hard to see what all of
the fuss is about.
The EPC tag is a tiny computer chip with a small amount of data storage
and a miniature radio antenna. The tags, which can be read whenever they
are close to a reader device, identify an item and its location. A central
database then provides details such as price and expiration date. Instead
of being manually scanned, the EPC tag, in effect, scans itself.
Details aren't important
Aside from the practical impossibilities of storing the zillions of bytes
of data that most worry privacy advocates, the truth is that even the most
aggressive marketer doesn't have much use for data about anything more
specific than your sex, age and ZIP code.
Groups such as the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the
Electronic Frontier Foundation are most concerned about what happens once
the product leaves the store. In theory, our home computers could some day
serve as EPC readers, but only if consumers allow it. For example, EPC
could be used to automatically reorder products or let consumers know when
an appliance needs preventive maintenance. That's useful, not invasive.
Those developing the EPC technology have been working hard to ensure that
consumer interests are paramount. The Auto-ID Center -- a Massachusetts
Institute of Technology-based consortium of more than 100 leading
companies, including Wal-Mart, Procter & Gamble and Sun Microsystems --
has worked on common EPC standards for years. It's about to hand over the
management of that standard to the Uniform Code Council, which administers
universal bar codes. EPC trials are underway at a few stores in the United
States, Europe and Japan.
Consumer protections
The MIT group soon will issue a set of guidelines for companies that want
to use EPC. Its aim is to head off consumer concerns before the technology
appears in stores. The guidelines stipulate that consumers:
*Must be told if EPC readers and tags are in use.
*Must be able to permanently stop the transmission of data to or from tags
once they leave the store.
*Have the right to buy EPC-tagged products without their identity being
linked in any way to the sale.
Many think of companies as amoral, profit-hungry beasts that will do
anything to promote their own selfish interests. In the case of EPC, the
early signs suggest an impressive cooperation aimed at making the
transition as smooth as possible and of sharing the benefits of new
technology as widely as possible.
EPC isn't dangerous. Ignorance is.
Larry Downes teaches technology law and strategy at the University of
California-Berkeley School of Information Management and Systems. He has
no affiliation with the bar code industry.