Ceepackaging

Analysis

EU wary of RFID

About half of EU residents believe privacy-protection technologies should be mandatory in RFID applications, while 61 per cent want RFID tags to be de-activated at the point of sale, according to a survey by the European Commission. Another 64 percent say current regulations are sufficient for the initial deployment of UHF RFID, but not once the technology becomes more widespread.Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is helping to transform logistics by providing a means of tracking and tracing individual products throughout the supply chain. However the high cost of tags, error read rates and privacy concerns have held back the development of the technology, despite mandates from major retailers such as Wal-Mart.

The preliminary survey forms part of the consultation process by the European Commission to gauge public opinion on the more widespread use of RFID technologies. The Commission plans to implement new data protection and privacy rules for RFID technology next year to address the concerns.

About 61 per cent of the respondents said that the current amount of information available to let them come to an informed judgement of RFID’s pros and cons was not sufficient. However, 52 per cent said they are aware of the efforts conducted by the existing forums to develop principles and best practices for the industry.

The public’s views are evenly split on the potential of RFID, with roughly the same proportion of respondents sceptical of the technology’s usefulness as are those optimistic that RFID offers great potential for improving the life of European citizens.

Two-thirds of the respondents felt that current EU data protection and privacy legislation is inadequate and that existing laws should be modified in order to strengthen the protection.

Also awareness raising and consumer education in the context of RFID deployment and its wide implications would be welcome, respondents stated.

“Pointing out that the deployment of RFID technology might lead to more surveillance many respondents suggest that RFID tags should be clearly and visibly marked and ‘kill-features’ should be introduced,” the Commission report stated. “According to the majority of responses, self-regulation and industry guidelines alone are not sufficient.”

RFID technology is a means of distinguishing individual items by attaching tags and specific codes to them. As such it is more accurate than the current bar code system in use. RFID tag data is written or read using radio waves, thus allowing for the management of processing and distribution flows throughout the supply chain.