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June 2006
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Let's stop skirting privacy issues

CU's President Jim Guest.
SECURITY BLANKET An array of strict, enforceable state and federal laws would protect all of us from gizmos that collect personal data.
About a year ago, Congress passed a bill that made it a federal crime to videotape up a woman's skirt without her consent. The Video Voyeurism Prevention Act of 2004 focused on “circumstances in which the individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy.” It was a specific piece of legislation covering a specific technology and a specific abuse: “upskirting.”

While the progress of the bill from its introduction in the Senate to presidential signing took 18 months--the mere tick of a hand on the congressional clock--who knows how much time and attention have been devoted to legislating all the other areas in which, by rights, we should have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Now we're faced with an emerging technology that allows the tracking of the skirt and, more important, its wearer. Radio frequency identification (RFID) involves attaching a tag to any object. The tag carries a microchip and a tiny radio antenna to transmit information--such as the exact location of the skirt at any given time--to an electronic reader. As our June 2006 report on RFID tags (available to subscribers) points out, these tags are already being used in library books; in credit cards to allow for instant, no-swipe payment; and at the retail level for printer/scanners and TVs.

The potential for privacy invasion is limitless. The tags are small enough to be embedded in a lipstick tube, a CD, a shoe sole, or even a person; so far, more than 100 Americans have been “chipped.” Each tag carries a unique identifying code, so the item you bought with your credit card, for example, could be located and linked to your address and to your financial data.

There are currently no federal laws specific to RFID technology, but that's just part of the problem. Congress can't keep up with the proliferation of new, potentially invasive technologies by passing laws for each. It shouldn't have to. What we need is an array of strict and enforceable state and federal laws that safeguard consumers' privacy rights against all types of current and future gizmos. The laws should apply to any entity that collects and holds information. They should regulate, for example, the kinds of data collected, how the data can be used, consumer notification of security breaches, and consumers' ability to see and correct their information. These rights should be enforceable by federal, state, and local officials, and by consumers themselves.

Given recent privacy incursions, it's clear that existing laws aren't enough. Proposals now before Congress are incomplete, too weak, or too inflexible to keep pace with rapid technological changes. The sooner we pass effective federal legislation--legislation that doesn't restrict stronger state laws--the better prepared we'll be when new technology threatens areas where we should have a reasonable expectation of privacy. To learn more, go to www.ConsumersUnion.org , and under Featured Campaigns, click on Financial Privacy Now.

Jim Guest's signature.

Jim Guest
President