[Vision2020] Wal-Mart: radio-freq. merchandise(and purchaser) ID tags

[Some Random WalMart Shopper]

And the result of this "unethical" marketing practice is to put products where 
they are most wanted?

Thkanks for enlightening the free world to this horrendous behaviour, Mr. 
Lohrmann.

Book 'em, Dano.

Tom Hansen

> 
> > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE from CASPIAN(Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy 
Invasion and
Numbering,) a grassroots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes 
since 1999,
and item level RFID tagging since 2002. 
> >www.nocards.org and www. spychips.com
> > May 11, 2004
> >
> > Wal-Mart Tries New PR Spin to Accompany Item-level RFID Tagging
> > "Selling the technology with partial truths is unethical," says CASPIAN
> >
> > Despite widespread consumer opposition, Wal-Mart began item-level RFID
> > (radio frequency identification) tagging of consumer goods last week as
> > part of a trial in Texas. In an apparent effort to minimize the backlash
> > to its use of RFID tags, Wal-Mart has also begun a public relations
> > campaign to promote the technology that some are calling unethical.
> >
> > Shoppers at seven Dallas-Ft. Worth area Wal-Mart stores can walk into
> > the consumer electronics department and find Hewlett-Packard products
> > for sale with live RFID tags attached. Wal-Mart's public statements
> > appear to leave open the possibility that other goods could be tagged
> > with RFID as well.
> >
> > The giant retailer's decision to tag individual items on the store floor
> > violates a call for a moratorium on such tagging issued last November by
> > over 40 of the world's most respected privacy and civil liberties
> > organizations. The move has sparked sharp criticism by the privacy
> > community.
> >
> > "Wal-Mart is blatantly ignoring the research and recommendations of
> > dozens of privacy experts," says  Katherine Albrecht, Founder and
> > Director of CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and
> > Numbering). "When the world's largest retailer adopts a technology with
> > chilling societal implications, and does so irresponsibly, we should all
> > be deeply concerned."
> >
> > In addition to violating the call for a moratorium on RFID-tagged items
> > in stores, Wal-Mart has begun a consumer education campaign that CASPIAN
> > is calling unethical.
> >
> > "Read the FAQs at the Wal-Mart corporate web site and you'll find plenty
> > of half truths," Albrecht says. "They call it consumer education, but
> > the omissions and spin make it feel more like a calculated
> > disinformation campaign."
> >
> > Albrecht provides the example of Wal-Mart's statement that RFID tags in
> > its stores are harmless since they contain nothing more than
> > identification numbers. "While technically that's true, Wal-Mart fails
> > to explain what it means for items to carry remote-readable unique ID
> > numbers. It's like saying someone's social security number is 'only' a
> > number, so sharing it with perfect strangers should be of no concern."
> >
> > Albrecht explains that many major retailers today routinely link
> > shoppers' identity information from credit, ATM and "loyalty" cards with
> > product bar code numbers to record individuals' purchases over time. "If
> > nothing is done to stop it, the same will happen with the unique RFID
> > numbers on products. This means that if retailers can read an RFID tag
> > on a product they previously sold you, they can identify you as you walk
> > in the door and even pinpoint your location in their store as you shop,"
> > she said.
> >
> > Albrecht also criticizes Wal-Mart for failing to tell consumers of the
> > retailer's long-term goals for RFID. "The industry plan is to put an
> > RFID tag on every product on Earth to identify and locate them at any
> > time, anywhere. Wal-Mart is taking the first steps to creating a society
> > where everything could be surveilled at all times. A shopper would
> > hardly learn this by reading their website."
> >
> > With potentially billions of dollars riding on RFID, global corporations
> > are eager to see it deployed. However, consumer acceptance has proved to
> > be an obstacle.
> >
> > Procter & Gamble's own research suggests that 78 percent of consumers
> > surveyed reacted negatively to the technology on privacy grounds and did
> > not find industry reassurances compelling. Another industry study,
> > published in January 2003, found similar misgivings among focus groups
> > of consumers in the U.S., Germany, France, Japan and the UK.
> >
> > The most publicized trial of item-level RFID tagging to date, Metro-AG's
> > "Future Store" in Rheinberg, Germany, met with massive consumer outcry
> > earlier this year, culminating in a protest outside the store.
> >
> > "Wal-Mart may soon be facing a similar backlash," said Albrecht.
> >
> > ==========================================================
> >
> > The press has already begun to pick up the story:
> >
> > The Register, UK: "Wal-Mart attracts further RFID flak"
> > http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/12/wal_mart_rfid_flak/
> >
> > ==========================================================
> >
> > CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering)
> > is a grass-roots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes
> > since 1999, and item-level RFID tagging since 2002. With members in all
> > 50 U.S. states and over 30 nations across the globe, CASPIAN seeks to
> > educate consumers about marketing strategies that invade their privacy
> > and to encourage privacy-conscious shopping habits across the retail
> > spectrum.
> >
> > CASPIAN is guided by free market principles. Rather than look to
> > lawmakers for solutions to the consumer privacy problem, we call on
> > consumers to reject privacy-invading practices so that they fail in the
> > marketplace.
> >
> > For more information, see
> > http://www.spychips.com
> > and
> > http://www.nocards.org
> >
> 
> 
> 		
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