Brussels, 27/08/2014 (Agence Europe) - According to the European Association for the Co-ordination of Consumer Representation in Standardisation (ANEC), the new European standards governing the chips used in radio frequency identification (RFID), just as for credit cards, are satisfactory. These standards were adopted last July and will be applied from next year.
The technology is “contactless” and data stored can be read remotely from within the local geographical environment of the microchip. ANEC points out that this is not risk-free for consumers and that there has been a “proliferation” of data capture and collection everywhere, from public transport to the workplace, from shopping to social networking. The data collected can be used to profile the behaviour of consumers for both commercial and law enforcement purposes. ANEC has been involved in developing European standards and insists that a precondition for the successful use of RFID is that it be introduced by industry in full respect of privacy, and that consumers remain in full control of their personal data. ANEC Secretary General Stephen Russell believes that “consumers are ready to accept new technologies, such as RFID, if respect of their fundamental right to private data protection and privacy is guaranteed”. According to ANEC, consumers should be provided with information about what data is to be collected and for what purpose. It also emphasises the need for clear labelling of devices that “read” the information stored in smart chips. (MD)