RFID Industry News

New Industry Organization to Address RFID Privacy Issues

To facilitate safe and secure use of RFID and proactively address privacy concerns, the RFID and identification technologies industries have formed the International Association for Identification Technologies (IAIT).  The IAIT will serve as a common voice for RFID suppliers and end-users. 

The new organization will provide educational materials and technical assistance, including technical specifications and RFID technology demonstrations for solution providers, end-users, government, the media, and consumer advocacy groups.

Organization members will meet with key policy makers and regulators and collaborate with other organizations and coalitions seeking to promote the responsible use and application of RFID technology.

For more information about IAIT, please contact Bill Newill at bnewill@securakey.com.

American Library Association Meets To Discuss RFID Guidelines

The American Library Association (ALA) sponsored an open hearing about its Intellectual Freedom Committee’s Guidelines for Implementing RFID in Libraries at its mid-winter conference.  A working group of the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy – the “Intellectual Freedom Committee” – and the Book Industry Study Group had participated in the creation of a draft RFID privacy policy which was released in the Fall of 2005.

In discussing the draft, Public Library Association president, Daniel L. Walters, executive director of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District affirmed the principles of privacy on behalf of the PLA.  He did express overall concern about “the chilling effect” the guidelines would have on potential adopters.  The Association stated that the guidelines “prematurely prohibit the uses of RFID and under-represented the benefits of the technology.” 

Louise Shaper, executive director of the Fayetteville Arkansas Public Library, noted the extraordinary benefits resulting from its RFID implementation which produced a three-fold increase in library use.  Other comments centered on discussion about concern for increased costs for tag encryption.  Emmett Erwin, CEO of Bibliotheca RFID Library Systems, interjected that his company provided tag encryption solutions as standard practice.