chapter 38
...................................................................................................................................................NEW WAYS OF
THINKING ABOUT
PRIVACY
...................................................................................................................................................beate roessler
1 New Problems Need New Theories
.........................................................................................................................................................................................
RFID (Radio Frequency IdentiWcation) chips are an electronic ‘‘label’’ with
speciWc code numbers allowing them to be identiWed at any time. If the chip is
brought near a reading device, the electromagnetic impulses emitted provide
it with enough energy to radio back its unique code number. RFID chips do
not require a built-in source of power. These ‘‘smart labels’’ can be attached,
for example, to a pair of trousers, and the radio-transmitted identiWability
means that whenever you are wearing these, you can be located and recog-
nized. It becomes permanently possible to track down and identify everything
one buys. In future, RFID chips are to take on a further function. It only takes a
small operation to implant them under the human skin, in this way making it
practicable to read and retrieve the data of medical patients, for example, at
any time (for a fuller discussion of the themes of this article, see Roessler 2005 ).
* Translated by R. D. V. Glasgow