RFID Use Raises Privacy Concerns

Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are seen by librarians as a tool to help track materials, stop theft, and, most importantly, check out and return books more rapidly. As more and more libraries adopt such systems, a proposal by the San Francisco Public Library to do so has alarmed critics who worry that they can be used to track readers and books.

Lee Tien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in San Francisco commented, "EFF opposes any use of RFID technology unless the planned implementation includes mandatory deactivation ( 'mandatory kill') of the RFID tags at the point at which the patron leaves the library. In our view, a 'mandatory kill' policy is the only measure that would allow RFIDs to be used by the library internally, while giving the public the necessary time to consider whether and to what extent they want RFIDs to proliferate."

RFID vendors, however, say that's what's happening. Scott Hackstadt, director of technology, Vernon Library Supplies, said that the only information on the RFID chip is the barcode number of the item and sorting information: "We have an on-off bit on the tag. If it's been turned off, it can go through the gate. When it's gone, there's no mechanism for the tag to be read when it's out of the building."

Emmett F. Erwin, president and CEO, Bibliotheca RFID Library Systems, said, "All of Bibliotheca's RFID labels are turned off when they leave a library." EFF's Tien told LJ that he hadn't done sufficient research to be sure that the RFID chip couldn't be reactivated, but "would be happy to learn that vendors had created a secure deactivation system."

Privacy advocates worry about the long-term. Numerous retailers are adopting RFID—and "mandatory kill" in that context means the label is turned off for good. A private school in Buffalo, NY, for example, is now using RFID technology for access control, cafeteria purchases, library books, and laptops.

Beth Givens, a former librarian who heads the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse in San Diego, envisions massive databases that contain unique product codes and personally identifying information that link people to the RFID-coded items they buy or obtain.

While she acknowledged that her critique of RFID does not focus on any current library practices, Givens warned, "So far we've seen RFID implemented in a public policy void. I think any entity needs to look at the long-term implications."

Carl Grant, president of the ILS/ RFID vendor VTLS, said, "It is true that future tags will be able to store more information. However, there is no reason that we or libraries cannot continue to store limited information. We would not suddenly decide to record the entire circulation history of an item just because the technology would support it. What we need is an agreed-upon standard."

The Privacy Subcommittee of the American Library Association's (ALA) Intellectual Freedom Committee plans to address questions about RFID when the subcommittee meets in San Diego for ALA's Midwinter Meeting.