Smart tags to be tested for privacy breaches

The European Commission agreed, on 6 April 2011, to analyze the implication of the electronic identification tags. Also, the officials will see if the devices could infringe citizens' privacy and will establish a set of tests to be carried out before the tags are put on the market.

Since May 2009 the European Commission has been talking to civil society groups, industry, privacy and data protection watchdogs and the European Network Information Security Agency to come up with ways to address security concerns around Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or smart tags.

Since their invention, the tags have become a pervasive part of daily life and can be found in contactless travel passes, hospital patients' wrist bands and in more unusual places like implants in the hands of VIP guests to night clubs.

• Primary Source

European Commission: Rapid: IP/11/418: Digital Agenda: new guidelines to address privacy concerns over use of smart tags http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/418&format=PDF&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

EurActiv: Link Dossier, 6.10.08: Radio Frequency Identification tags (RFID) http://www.euractiv.com/en/infosociety/radio-frequency-identification-tags-rfid/article-158701

http://www.enisa.europa.eu/media/news-items/signing-ceremony-of-the-privacy-and-data-protection-impact-assessment-framework-for-radio-frequency-identification-rfid-applications http://www.enisa.europa.eu/media/news-items/signing-ceremony-of-the-privacy-and-data-protection-impact-assessment-framework-for-radio-frequency-identification-rfid-applications

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