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Story: Wal-Mart commits billions to RFID

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RFID = 1984

Radio Frequency Identification is an automatic data capture technology that uses tiny tracking chips affixed to products. These tiny chips can be used to track items at a distance--right through someone's purse, backpack, or wallet. Many of the world's largest manufacturing companies are now in the process of replacing the bar code with these "spy chips," meaning that virtually every item on the planet--and the people wearing and carrying those items--could be remotely tracked. There is currently NO REGULATION protecting consumers from abuse of this technology.

Despite that research predicts the global market will exceed $US3.1 billion ($4.7 billion) by 2008, on November 4, 2003, a meeting was held near Wal-Mart's Bentonville, Arkansas, headquarters with its largest 100 merchandise suppliers. Kraft Foods, Procter & Gamble, Tyson Foods, Unilever, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Philips Semiconductor and SAP, to name a few, attended. Wal-Mart asked its top 100 suppliers to join the effort and, starting January 1, 2005, attach RFID tracking "tags" to the millions of cases and containers they ship to the company.

In July of 2003, RFID strategy documents were discovered by Katherine Albrecht, founder of CASPIAN, using an internet search engine. The documents include publicity recommendations, consumer surveys, and slideshows discussing how to pacify consumers. The RFID industry site, www.autoidcenter.com, has already removed and/or replaced the documents.

Wal-Mart's January 1, 2005 deadline is the first step in the world's largest retailer gearing up to implement RFID in its inventory-management system across all of its stores. Wal-Mart will use the Electronic Product Code compliant RFID technology for identifying, tracking and tracing deliveries and inventory. Wal-Mart's hundreds of suppliers must take action now to ensure they will remain on the shelves of the retail giant. Test centers are already in place. Perhaps Wal-Mart ought to change their name to Wal-Marx as well as their slogan, "Costs You Privacy. Always!"

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