CASPIAN Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion And Numbering

CASPIAN: Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering

Auto-ID Center provides "non-answer" to consumer questions
CASPIAN asks three clear questions of Auto-ID Center Board of Overseers, receives this in response:

From: Kevin Ashton <kashton@MIT.EDU>
To: ksa@nocards.org
Subject: Overseers' Comments
Date: 14 Jul 2003 09:11:38 -0400

Dear Katherine

The Auto-ID Center Board of Overseers has asked me to respond to
your recent inquiry. Certainly, they welcome your views and appreciate
the time you are taking to better understand the work of the Center.

First, it is important to clarify that the Auto-ID Center and its sponsors
have been engaged in the development of the EPC Network. While the EPC
Network is RFID-enabled, RFID is only one component of the overall system.
As you know RFID is not a new technology. It has been deployed in many
different ways, in many applications around the world, since the 1940s.
So, while we can address issues related to our work through and with
the Center,
we are not in a position to respond to questions about RFID in general.

I make this important distinction because, in developing the EPC
Network,we have been very committed to substantively addressing the
very issues you raise. The Center, with the Board's full support, has been
researching questions about public policy for many years in order to
understand the issues and properly resolve them. Through an
independent International Public Policy Advisory Council, the Center
has solicited and responded to guidance from technology/privacy
experts around the world. Through a Chief Privacy Officers' Working
Group, the Center has engaged individuals within our sponsor
companies to help develop and implement effective usage guidelines.
And, through a very transparent process, the Center has been
developing technical and policy solutions that set the EPC technology
apart from others. This includes the capability to irrevocably deactivate
EPC tags at the point of purchase.

The Center's next step is the development of a practical policy
proposal that outlines how EPC technology should be used. In keeping
with the Center's policy of openness, this will be made available to
the public soon after it has been shared with sponsors. The Center's
researchers will also continue to work on additional technical
measures to address questions like privacy and security.

All the Center's sponsors see the right to privacy as a fundamental
freedom, and take this matter very seriously. They have asked me to
assure you that they will keep your views in mind as they progress
with these very tangible steps.

Sincerely,

Kevin Ashton

CASPIAN
Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering
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