No Subcutaneous Implanting of RFID Chips in California

A California bill, SB 362, has been signed into law on October 12. The law, effective January 1st, 2008, adds a section52.7 to the California Civil Code:

52.7. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (g), a person shall not require, coerce, or compel any other individual to undergo the subcutaneous implanting of an identification device.

Parents and guardians still have the right to implant the chips into their kids or dependents:

(g) This section shall not in any way modify existing statutory or case law regarding the rights of parents or guardians, the rights of children or minors, or the rights of dependent adults.

The law will prevents employers to force their employees to accept the implantation of RFID chips, an invasion of the workers's privacy that is particularly concerning.

As professor Paul Roth wrote in this report:

"The collection of data about an individual's movements or transactions over time so as to build up an increasingly accurate profile of that worker's conduct or performance. As tags become more and more common, tags on items carried or worn by an individual can be scanned by a compatible reader for additional information about an individual, such as their tastes, habits, or even medical condition. For example, RFID has been used to track medicines, which would enable an employer to scan for prescription drugs being taken by a worker or job applicant."