I take NFC CARD issue with his use of RFID as an example of a technology that lowers the barriers to collecting data about consumers. He posits that tags might one day be placed on all objects, and that readers might become cheap enough that every household will own one. (I agree with both of these points.) The author then says: "Under current technological constraints, dumpster-diving is not for the faint of heart or sensitive of nose. Trash can be smelly, messy and time-consuming to sort through. Moreover, because garbage inspection is an unusual practice—typically reserved for law enforcement, private detectives, paparazzi, and recycling inspectors—it can easily draw unwanted attention. But RFID technology could allow the process to be done discreetly, quickly, and at a safe distance.
"In that case," he writes, "people who never considered rummaging through garbage before might give it try. Let's say you're a boss who is worried that an employee's productivity has decreased because the person has become an alcoholic. Why not drive past his house and see just how many bottles he consumed that week? If you're hell-bent on having a gotcha moment, you might even draw the wrong conclusions about what you find—not realizing, for example, that the empties belong to an employee's college-age kids who were visiting home during a break." contactless cards
There are a couple of problems with his theory. The tags only contain a serial number, so your boss would have to match strings of numbers to company IDs and product IDs issued by GS1. That's a barrier to virtual dumpster diving. Moreover, all Electronic Product Code (EPC) tags likely to be used on consumer products can be permanently deactivated.This could be accomplished at the store, or a consumer equipped with an RFID reader could potentially do it at home.combo cards
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