Companies using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on products should always tell their customers and make sure they know whether they can deactivate the tags, according to a set of best practices for RFID deployment proposed by a group of IT vendors, RFID users and consumer advocates.“There should be no secret RFID tags or readers,” according to a draft report by the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) Working Group on RFID. Members of the group include Cisco, IBM, Intel, the National Consumers League, Procter & Gamble and VeriSign.The report adds that, by itself, consumer notification does not mitigate all privacy concerns. Companies collecting personally identifying information through RFID tags should tell customers how that data will be used. And if customers can opt out of sharing that information, or can destroy the tags, those options must be readily available, the report says.“The document draws from widely accepted and traditional principles of fair information practices,” says Paula Bruening, staff counsel at CDT, a privacy and civil liberties advocacy group. It offers concrete guidance for companies that want to deploy RFID in a way that respects privacy, but also recognizes the need for technological flexibility, she adds. The expanding use of RFID, embraced by large retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target, has raised concerns about privacy. Because scanners can read RFID chips from a short distance, privacy advocates worry that the technology could eventually be used to track people’s movements and purchases. Related content BrandPost The future of trust—no more playing catch up Broadcom: 2023 Tech Trends That Transform IT By Eric Chien, Director of Security Response, Symantec Enterprise Division, Broadcom Mar 31, 2023 5 mins Security BrandPost TCS gives Blackhawk Network an edge with Microsoft Cloud In this case study, Blackhawk Network’s Cara Renfroe joins Tata Consultancy Services’ Rakesh Kumar and Microsoft’s Nilendu Pattanaik to explain how TCS transformed the gift card company’s customer engagement and global operati By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 31, 2023 1 min Financial Services Industry Cloud Computing IT Leadership BrandPost How TCS pioneered the ‘borderless workspace’ with Microsoft 365 Microsoft’s modern workplace solution proved a perfect fit for improving productivity and collaboration, while maintaining security of systems and data. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 31, 2023 1 min Financial Services Industry Microsoft Cloud Computing BrandPost Supply chain decarbonization: The missing link to net zero By improving the quality of global supply chain data, enterprises can better measure their true carbon footprint and make progress toward a net-zero business ecosystem. By Tata Consultancy Services Mar 31, 2023 2 mins Retail Industry Supply Chain Green IT Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe