There's an interesting article about the explicit nature of current discussions of sex by young people.

It seems like RFID news has been quiet until recently. So far there hasn't been any talk of federal regulation of RFIDs, but now the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has scheduled a June 21st workshop to discuss RFID and the effect on consumers. Written comments about the uses of RFID will be accepted until July 9th.

I'm not a huge fan of government regulation, but think it's a good sign that the debate about RFIDs continues to grow. Other recent news includes the RFID News "Ask the Experts" about RFID which interviews five different people from CASPIAN, HP, EPCglobal, EPIC, and Verisign. I love Katherine Albrecht's quote (which was also posted on slashdot):

"In most cases, asking how a company exploring item-level RFID tagging can protect their customers' privacy is like asking a fox how he can best ensure the safety of your chickens."

Though I disagree with her that "unless they have a financial or professional stake in RFID's success", people aren't going to like the technology. I think the technology is interesting and could be very useful. In the tech ubiquitous home, RFIDs would be a great addition -- I think the refrigerator example exemplifies this -- a computer in your refrigerator door that tells you when your milk is low and displays recipes based on the contents of your fridge. We're quite a ways from that, and a lot of standards and policies need to be figured out in order to both safeguard privacy and allow us this convenience, but I personally would love a smart fridge.

The links off of Albrecht's interview are a great way to introduce yourself to the reasons why we need these discussions if you aren't already familiar with them.

On the other hand, Jack Grasso of the EPCglobal (a non-profit organization; EPC = Electronic Product Code), claims that consumers "overwhelmingly support the use of RFID for the benefits they expect to recieve from the technology". But of course if you ask people if they want safer prescriptions or fresher produce, people are going to say yes. If they don't understand more than that about RFID technology, they're not fair questions to ask. And the group that did that study also just launched a joint RFID venture with Sun. They're not unbiased. The study (which is incorporated in a pamphlet informing and encouraging businesses to better market RFID) by Capgemini (formerly Cap Gemini Ernst and Young) contains quotes like "consumer buy-in is essential given the current public debate", "This finding indicates that many consumers have not yet formed an opinion about RFID, providing an opportunity for businesses to position RFID in a favorable light", and "If the industry fails to educate consumers, that role will default to consumer advocacy groups".

Cédric Laurant, of EPIC, also makes mention of the probable publicity campaign that business interests will likely undertake to make item level RFID palatable and even desirable to the average consumer. He also has a detailed list of the ways in which item level RFID tagging can be deployed in a consumer friendly manner.