"[...] there is a lot of political opposition to it by people who are just totally opposed to the idea of having something implanted in them."
There are valid reasons. A reader could be concealed under a table in a voting booth, recording who you voted for. Readers in doorways could track your movement at work, and how long you spend in the bathroom. Entering a coffee house could put you under investigation if it happens to also be frequented by known criminals at the same time of day. Displays in stores or malls, or even on the street could display targeted ads at you as you walk by (or sit for what used to be a quiet break).
There are other risks if RFID is used for things like security. A high profile case of a man in Malaysia who had a sophisticated fingerprint lock on his Mercedes was carjacked, and the carjackers simply cut off his finger to open the car with. Kidnappers in Mexico have apparently taken to routinely digging out RFID chips - sometimes they're not there, so the scars are for nothing.
If RFID chips alone can allow access to large amounts of money, criminals may just dig out the chip and abandon the person.
There are serious issues to address before relying on RFID chips for widespread use.
|