WASHINGTON–Hasty laws drafted by technologically impaired politicians could stifle the promise of radio frequency identification tags, U.S. government officials and policy analysts said on Thursday.
RFID tags, which broadcast a unique ID through radio frequencies, have been hailed as a breakthrough that will allow retailers to track inventory more closely and, like bar codes, result in lower prices and more choices for consumers. But some politicians and liberal groups have been attacking the tags on privacy grounds, which has led to proposals like one in California last year to levy onerous regulations on RFID technology.
“The problem we see in spades in California is legislators don’t know the technology nearly as well as you do,” said Dan Caprio, the Department of Commerce’s deputy assistant secretary for technology policy and chief privacy officer. Caprio was referring to the audience, which included representatives of technology companies.
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