News: "Big Brother" is coming to Wal-Mart...

[I Am Blessed 24]

By Mary Starrett
June 11, 2003
NewsWithViews.com

Starting this week, the nation's largest discount retailer will quietly begin selling tracking-chipped products to clueless shoppers. The first volley in their war against our privacy is set to start at their Brockton, Massachusetts store.

Wal-Mart will put Radio Frequency I.D. sensors on shelves stocked with RFID-tagged Gillette products, but they'd rather you didn't know about it, because, hey, you might not like it, and then you might make noise and then they'd have a big PR mess on their hands.

You might even stop buying Gillette products or, say, refuse to shop at Wal-Mart.

These chips, researched at M.I.T.'s Auto-ID Center are about the size of a grain of sand. Chipsters say the technology will only be used to help retailers keep track of inventory - like bar codes. But privacy-loving consumers question the very concept of a device that sends out radio waves to "readers" that not only identify the article, but where and with whom it's going.

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY

Sue

[ June 26, 2003, 12:08 PM: Message edited by: Squire Robertsson ]

 

[Daisy]

This is interesting, new technology. It is a bit Big Brotherish - for instance, banks are looking into having a chip in your bankcard which would be automatically read as you entered the bank and if you have a ton of money there, you'd be whisked off the line and treated nicely even at branches where the bankers didn't know you.

Airlines are also looking into RFID for tracking baggage and matching baggage to passengers. That way, if the passenger got rerouted, so would the baggage because the information associated with the tag is easily updated.

If you're interested in who is developing or using this technology, check this out:
RFID Industry Journal FAQ page

From Urban Legends:

Claim: Wal-Mart and Gillette are trying out products embedded with RFID tracking chips.

Status: True.
<snip>
These fears are unfounded for now. RFID tags have no built-in batteries or power supplies; they're activated by radio waves sent out from RFID readers which emit just enough power to trigger the tags and have a range limit of only a few feet, so Orwellian nightmare scenarios involving avaricious corporations tracking the locations of every one of their products all over the globe are not yet a reality. Still, inventory tagging technology is becoming ever more prevalent (Wal-Mart is urging its top 100 suppliers to adopt RFID-based inventory control by 2005) and will inevitably improve, so privacy advocates' concerns that RFID chips represent the opening salvo in a battle over potential abuses of inventory systems (e.g., using them to recognize or solicit consumers based upon the tags in the products they carry and wear) are not necessarily unfounded. As always, the public will eventually have to confront issues regarding how much they're willing to give up in the service of convenience and lower prices.
emphasis added

 

[I Am Blessed 24]

How far are we from the implanted chip in the forehead or on the hand with '666' on it???

 

[dianetavegia]

My neighbor works for Wal-Mart in the pharmacy department. Her 16 year old daughter just found out she's pregnant.

Wal-Mart's employee insurance will pay to abort the baby but won't pay for the pre-natal care or delivery of this minor's baby.

It's more than Big Brother....

Diane

 

[j_barner2000]

abortion costs less money.

 

[wizofoz]

I think people are making too big a deal about this.
From what I understand, the chip is on the packaging, not in the product. So, if you're worried about Big Brother following you home, just take the product out of the packaging when you leave the store and before you get in your car.

 

[LadyEagle]

well, wiz, that's all fine & dandy....except....

What else aren't we being told?

 

[Johnv]

This is the second thread about this subject to start on this board. The fact that it has appeared again indicates that we love rumor and gossip.

This story about Walmart and RFID tags has gotten blown way out of proportion, and portions of it are quite misleading. The RFID tags are inventory control tags that are placed on the pagkaging (not the product). They replace the more traditional bar codes that are currently on packaging. Rather than manually scan every item on shelves one by one, the RFID tags allow the products to be scanned from a distance of a few feet, no longer requiring a warehouse worker to climb over boxes and move bulky containers.

Additionally, the story implies that Walmart is "quietly" insituting RFID tags. Not so at all. Walmart issued a major press release, and was very excited about using this new affordable technology.

RFID tags have been used for several years in the CD/DVD industry. As anyone who has ever bought a CD knows, the tags are deactivated when the items are purchased. If they weren't, an alarm would sound when we try to leave the store with them. The only reason RFID tags have not been used more until now is because the cost has been somewhat proho

RFID tags have also been used in employee entry badges. As anyone who has them knows, unless your badge is in close proximity to the detector, the door ain't gonna open for you.

Since WalMart's RFID tags are on the packaging, once the product is opened, the tag is discarded. But the bottom line is, prior to us purchasing the product, the product belongs to Walmart. Walmart has every right to manage its product in whatever manner it chooses. In this case, the cost savings ultimately benefits us, the consumer. If we begin telling Walmart that it can't do, then who's the real big brother?

If we're concerned that our purchasing habits are being tracked, what we should do is stop using those club cards at grocery stores. But somehow, when it means we save money, all of a sudden, it isn't such a big deal. Since Walmart's new RFID inventory system will end up in lower product prices, we should be just as happy about this as we are about club card savings.

 

[Johnv]

Originally posted by dianetavegia:
My neighbor works for Wal-Mart in the pharmacy department. Her 16 year old daughter just found out she's pregnant.

Wal-Mart's employee insurance will pay to abort the baby but won't pay for the pre-natal care or delivery of this minor's baby.

It's more than Big Brother....

Diane

Diane, someone ain't sayin' something. I asked an acquaitence who works for Walmart. Her insurance covered childbirth expenses when she gave birth to her son. She chose Walmart's insurance because her doctor didn't accept her husband's insurance, and she didn't want to change doctors. I don't recall what insurance plan it is, however.

 

[wizofoz]

Originally posted by SheEagle9/11:
well, wiz, that's all fine & dandy....except....

What else aren't we being told?

That Wal Mart is part of a vast international conspiracy to flood the United States with cheap Chinese junk, thus rendering its patrons powerless to buy items that they actually need?

Maybe not.

 

[I Am Blessed 24]

Since Walmart's new RFID inventory system will end up in lower product prices, we should be just as happy about this as we are about club card savings.

Not true John. The chips cost .60 each. Someone is going to pay for them...guess who??? And I've never had a 'club card' beep as I went out the door.

IMHO, It's an ominous sign of things to come....

 

[Johnv]

Originally posted by I Am Blessed 16:
The chips cost .60 each. Someone is going to pay for them...guess who??? And I've never had a 'club card' beep as I went out the door.

IMHO, It's an ominous sign of things to come....

No disrespect intended, but the fact is that the article you posted is misleading, as per the reasons I posted previously.

The cost of manually scanning a bar code is considerably more than RFID tags. We're already paying for warehouse personnel to manually scan these items, at a higher cost. I used to have a warehouse job in college and it was estimated that inventory control added about a buck to the cost of each item. I don't know what it would be today.

There's no need for club cards to beep. They already have your product information.

Please tell me how RFID tagged products are trackable once you leave a store.

 

[stubbornkelly]

Wal-Mart's employee insurance will pay to abort the baby but won't pay for the pre-natal care or delivery of this minor's baby.

jbarner's correct on that - abortion is cheaper. Insurance companies are, after all, in it for the money.

That said, I've never heard of an insurance that won't pay for pre-natal and delivery, at least a portion (I know my insurance wouldn't cover all of it, maybe 60% or so). Most insurance providers don't cover elective abortions (mine does not under any program, and neither have my last three -- all big name companies), so although I don't want to discount your friends' story, it does seem a little off to me.

 

[I Am Blessed 24]

Chipsters say the technology will only be used to help retailers keep track of inventory - like bar codes. But privacy-loving consumers question the very concept of a device that sends out radio waves to "readers" that not only identify the article, but where and with whom it's going.

The Big Brother implications of this thing need little hyping to get your skin crawling.

Retailers are SUPPOSED to alert their customers to the tracking chips and offer to "kill" the tags at the checkout counter.

Don't count on it, because what you don't know won't hurt you, right? And to PROVE those RFID tags won't be "killed" at the cash register one of the ways they're planning on convincing you, the shopper that these tags are A-OK is by touting how "hassle-free" returns will be. Huh?

If the tags are supposedly turned off at purchase, how can they be read after the item's brought back to the store? Just one of the myriad lies you'll be told about this technology.

John: This is the part of the article that I, and most other consumers, are concerned about. It is part of the original article.

 

[Johnv]

The claims made in that part of the article are misleading:

Retailers are SUPPOSED to alert their customers to the tracking chips and offer to "kill" the tags at the checkout counter.

I'm not sure where anyone got the idea that retailers are SUPPOSED to alert consumers of the tag use. I've never been told that the CD's I've been buying have them, yet I know they do, via common sense. They've been using them for 10 years.

The tags don't "emit" anything in the first place. The tags reflect rf waves when exposed to specific frequencies, just as a bar code reflects a certain pattern when exposed to laser light.

If the tags are supposedly turned off at purchase, how can they be read after the item's brought back to the store?

The "killing" of the rf tag they're referring to is the same as what currently happens with my cd's the tag is scanned to turn off the ability to reflect an rf signal, or "killed". But if I bring the CD back, they can turn that feature back on by scanning the item once again.

Just one of the myriad lies you'll be told about this technology.
This is by no means new technology. The lies about the technology are being told by the author of this article, not by Walmart.

 

[dianetavegia]

Kelly asked:

That said, I've never heard of an insurance that won't pay for pre-natal and delivery, at least a portion (I know my insurance wouldn't cover all of it, maybe 60% or so). Most insurance providers don't cover elective abortions (mine does not under any program, and neither have my last three -- all big name companies), so although I don't want to discount your friends' story, it does seem a little off to me.

Kelly, the pregnant person is the employees 16 year old daughter and the insurance doesn't cover prenatal and delivery for minor children.

The state of Georgia will fully cover her tho through Medicare. Any woman, of any age, who is pregnant, who recently gave birth or had an abortion can get Medicaid in Georgia.

Diane

 

[Johnv]

the pregnant person is the employees 16 year old daughter and the insurance doesn't cover prenatal and delivery for minor children.

That make a bit more sense.

 

[FearNot]

Wow, Walmart can't catch a break. They bring affordable prices close to home. The people who work there are almost always helpful and respectful.

Just because Walmart offers insurance to their employees doesn't mean they are the insurance company. Usually the only choices the main company has is how much they are going to pay toward their employees insurance. They don't pick and choose what the insurance company will pay out.

As far as the razor tags go. Walmart is not embedding the detector in your skin. It is on the package. If you do not like it, do not buy it. Or go to Bankruptmart. Numerous companies use tags like this, clothing companies, grocery stores, almost anywhere shoplifting is done. Why do you think the public library has those little columns to walk through when you leave? If you do not check the book out, and have it demagnified, the alarm goes off.

Walmart has eliminated many cds with abusive language/messages, and now they are stopping the sale of several magazines. They did this out of moral responcibility. They turned away from greed and profit to do the right thing. I wish some people would stop looking for reasons to hate them.

Like I said... If you don't like walmart, do not shop there! I do not agree with some of Disney's philosphies, so I do not go. If i want to ride a ride, I will go somewhere else. Take your dollars somewhere else.

 

[LadyEagle]

More...

[snip]
In 15 or 20 years, futurists predict, the pervasive RFID tags will link to massive computer networks, enabling speedy checkout from the grocery store, medicine cabinets that tell you when to take pills, and milk cartons that inform your fridge when to add another gallon to the grocery list.

[snip]


Wal-Mart, whose support for bar codes helped establish them as a standard two decades ago, has started to push its suppliers to adopt RFID technology, which Overby described as ''bar codes on steroids.''

Boston-based Gillette Co. is one of the most aggressive, launching several pilot programs to test ways to use RFID technology to better track its batteries, razors, and oral care products. It recently ordered 500 million RFID tags from Alien. (ALIEN??? )

Gillette is experimenting with the next step after more efficient warehouses -- ''smart shelves'' that can signal when product is running low on a shelf or when a shoplifter might be grabbing a handful.

As early as this week in its Brockton store, Wal-Mart will put RFID sensors on a shelf stocked with RFID-tagged Gillette products to test the concept. Other retailers and suppliers, including Procter & Gamble Co., Home Depot Inc., and Johnson & Johnson Inc., are supporting RFID's development.

Much of the RFID technical work is done by the Auto-ID Center, a research group in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its founder, MIT professor Sanjay Sarma, said a recent breakthrough in improving RFID tags involved adding not more functions, but fewer. Attach only a simple unique number to each tag, the thinking went, then use networked computers to identify and track each tagged object.

They don't even need a battery; the radio waves sent out from RFID readers emit just enough power to fire up the tags when they're within range of a few feet. And the less information they carry, the less power the tags consume.

''Minimalism led to this virtuous cycle,'' Sarma said.

Though they're only being used to track bundles through warehouses now, the thought of these RFID tags making their way into everything has concerned privacy advocates who worry about being tracked -- or recognized and solicited by advertisers -- by the tags in their clothes.

The transmisssion range of RFID tags today is limited to only a few feet, so manufacturers couldn't track people even if they wanted to (and they say they don't). But Sarma said the Auto-ID Center instructs retailers to tell consumers when RFID tags are in use, and to offer to ''kill'' the tags upon checkout.

Link

 

[dianetavegia]

Originally posted by dianetavegia:
My neighbor works for Wal-Mart in the pharmacy department. Her 16 year old daughter just found out she's pregnant.

Wal-Mart's employee insurance will pay to abort the baby but won't pay for the pre-natal care or delivery of this minor's baby.

I think that was just overlooked in your first read. I always included that info....

Diane

ps. When our daughter was pregnant at 18 and delivered at 19, our insurance paid in full for the prenatal and delivery plus follow up care for several months. By then we had legally adopted Nick as our own.