San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today sent a letter to the San Francisco Public Library Commission (SFPLC) warning of privacy concerns in the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging of library books.
The SFPLC is considering a budget for RFID technology for the library system starting in 2004 with implementation starting in 2005. Under the plan, San Francisco libraries would place a computerized chip in library books and other materials to facilitate tracking of the books through the library system as well as on loans to patrons. Library staff, as well as potentially other persons, could use RFID sensor devices to determine the location, title, and potentially other information about the library materials.
"RFID technology raises great privacy concerns because insecure RFID tags permit inventorying of people's possessions and tracking of people via their possessions," explained EFF Senior Staff Attorney Lee Tien in the letter. "Libraries have long been very protective of library patron privacy given that surveillance of reading and borrowing records chills the exercise of First Amendment rights."
EFF recommended that the SFPLC "postpone adoption of RFID technology pending further study and research into its privacy implications and cost-effectiveness."
Lee Tien
Senior Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
tien@eff.org
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and government to support free expression and privacy online. EFF is a member-supported organization and maintains one of the most linked-to websites in the world at http://www.eff.org/
