EU ministers discuss right to disable RFID tags

ERJ staff report (DS)

Nice, France -- At a meeting titled, 'Internet of Things', EU information ministers reviewed progress on RFID tags and other technologies, with respect to privacy concerns. The Ministerial gathering in Nice on 6 October was planned to debate issues surrounding electronic devices, information distribution and privacy.

Politicians and consumer groups demanded the right for consumers to disable all RFID tags at the point of sale.

Eric Besson, French State Secretary for the development of the digital economy, stated: "The future Internet will bring huge economic and social benefits, but it has to remain under citizens' control. We have to establish a right to deactivate tags."

EU Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding agreed. The Information Society will soon recommend that consumers are given the right to 'opt-in' when buying products with embedded RFID. if they choose not to do so, then the tag would have to be de-activated.

Ryo Imura of Hitachi, which manufacturers RFID tags, said, "RFID is key for the traceability of products, also after their sale. RFID is not only for industries and for supply chains, but also for people. Consumers can know where what they buy come from and can be helped in the maintenance, the potential recovery and the recycling." He favoured the opt-out approach, in which consumers are not asked, but would have the right actively to seek de-activation.

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