Ohio Company Tags Workers With Electronic Implants
FT.com reports that a U.S. company called CityWatcher.com has tagged two of its employees with electronic implants that can be used for identification and security.
An Ohio company has embedded silicon chips in two of its employees - the first known case in which US workers have been "tagged" electronically as a way of identifying them.
CityWatcher.com, a private video surveillance company, said it was testing the technology as a way of controlling access to a room where it holds security video footage for government agencies and the police.
Embedding slivers of silicon in workers is likely to add to the controversy over RFID technology, widely seen as one of the next big growth industries.
The incident raises obvious privacy concerns but the CEO of CityWatcher says the chips are used for identification.
"There are very serious privacy and civil liberty issues of having people permanently numbered," said Liz McIntyre, who campaigns against the use of identification technology.
But Sean Darks, chief executive of CityWatcher, said the glass-encased chips were like identity cards. They are planted in the upper right arm of the recipient, and "read" by a device similar to a cardreader.
"There's nothing pulsing or sending out a signal," said Mr Darks, who has had a chip in his own arm. "It's not a GPS chip. My wife can’t tell where I am."
FT.com also says VeriChip, the manufacturer of the chips, says there about 70 people with chips implanted in the U.S. so far. It may be difficult to convince employees why they need to implant an identification chip instead of just carrying their identification.
