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RFID chips, tiny tracking devices the size of a grain of dust, can be used to secretly identify you and the things you're carrying--right through your clothes, wallet, backpack, or purse. Have you already taken one home with you?
Gillette shelf photographs unsuspecting shoppers!
Here's proof that Gillette and the Auto-ID Center are deeply involved in shopper surveillance:
 Hidden shelf camera takes photo
of shopper when Gillette razor blades are picked up; photo is
automatically routed to security. [Source:
Auto-ID Center. See entire document] |
 This image appears to indicate
shoppers are tracked through the store whle carrying Gillette Mach 3
razors [Source: Auto-ID Center. See entire
document] |
 A
still from Auto-ID Center promotional video showing how "smart
shelf" camera takes shoppers' photos [Source: Auto-ID Center. View entire
video] |
By Alok Jha, Guardian Science Correspondent, July 19, 2003
RFID tags on Mach 3
razors snap your photo"Think RFID tags are harmless? Look at how they are being used in the UK"
Shaving shoppers to be saved from
surveillance?Close shaves in the security sector
"If retailers think consumers will put up with this...they are mistaken"
Shopping to
go high-tech? Radio tracking of merchandise has privacy advocates
steaming, By Jon Dougherty, Jul 19,
2003FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Gillette has some explaining to do, says CASPIAN
"Photographing and tracking consumers is unacceptable"
July 21, 2003
Pick up a Gillette product at the store, and you could be photographed and tracked without your knowledge or consent, says CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering). The consumer group is asking for a complete explanation from Gillette after finding evidence of a Gillette Mach3 retail store spy system.
The evidence includes a slide presentation and video that demonstrate a "smart shelf" system fitted with radio frequency identification (RFID) devices. The shelf can sense when RFID tagged Gillette razor blade packages are removed from the shelf and, in response, take pictures of consumers handling them.
Additional evidence includes an article published this weekend by the UK Guardian newspaper. Guardian reporter Rachel Shabi found a live test of such a Gillette smart shelf at a Cambridge, England Tesco store after being tipped off by CASPIAN.
There are links to all this evidence at the CASPIAN web site: http://www.nocards.org.
CASPIAN Founder and Director Katherine Albrecht found a similar Gillette smart shelf in a Brockton, Massachussets Wal-Mart. However, the store pulled the shelf shortly after Albrecht snapped photos of it, claiming they weren't interested in testing the technology.
"We want an explanation, and we want it now," says Albrecht. "We also want assurances from Gillette that they will clearly label their consumer products which contain RFID devices, and we want their word that they will not directly or indirectly support the photographing, videotaping or tracking of innocent shoppers who interact with Gillette products."
Albrecht says CASPIAN is communicating these requests today in an open letter to Gillette Vice President Dick Cantwell. Cantwell also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Overseers at the MIT Auto-ID Center, the organization developing a global Internet infrastructure for RFID. The Center's plan is to tag all the objects on the planet with RFID chips and track them via the Internet.
"Photographing and tracking of consumers without their consent is unacceptable," says Albrecht. "We want to send a clear message to Gillette and other companies that consumers will not tolerate being spied on through the products they buy."
Gillette is currently the leader in nearly a dozen consumer product categories. Their products include well-known brands like Gillette razors and shaving products, Oral-B toothbrushes, Braun appliances and Duracell batteries.
Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN) is a grass-roots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes since 1999. With members in all 50 U.S. states and 15 nations across the globe, CASPIAN seeks to educate consumers about marketing strategies that invade their privacy and to encourage privacy-conscious shopping habits across the retail spectrum.
CASPIAN's open letter to Gillette:
Seeks full disclosure of all RFID product tagging that affects consumers
| OPEN LETTER FROM CASPIAN TO
GILLETTE CASPIAN Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering July 21, 2003 Dick Cantwell Vice President, Global Business Management Gillette Grooming Products Prudential Tower Building Boston, MA 02199-8004 Subject: RFID, Photographing and Tracking Consumers Dear Dick Cantwell: On July 10 we asked the MIT Auto-ID Center Board of Overseers, of which you are Chairman, to share information about item-level product tagging. Specifically, we asked the following three questions: 1. What consumer products are currently being individually tagged with RFID devices? What products have been tagged in the past? 2. What retail stores are selling or have sold RFID-tagged items to consumers? Please provide specific store location information. 3. Where can consumers get details about information collected when they interact with RFID-tagged items at these locations? For example, are consumers being tracked, videotaped, or photographed? When the Board did not provide relevant answers to the these questions, we posed our questions again on July 16. Since we have not received a satisfactory response to our questions from the Board, and in light of recent revelations that Gillette may be directly or indirectly supporting the tracking and photographing of consumers without consumer knowledge or consent, we are posing the questions directly to you and Gillette. Please provide a thorough and timely response to the three questions listed above on behalf of Gillette. In addition, we request assurances on the following two points: 1. Gillette will not place radio frequency identification (RFID) devices on or in consumer items or packaging unless the products and packages contain full disclosure about the devices and implications of the devices, and 2. Gillette will not condone the photographing and tracking of consumers without consumer knowledge and consent. We believe that consumers have a right to know when they are interacting with technology that could compromise their privacy and/or health, and we look forward to sharing your responses with the public. Sincerely, Katherine Albrecht Founder and Director, CASPIAN cc: Paul Fox, Gillette Director of Global External Relations Kevin Ashton, Director, MIT Auto-ID Center web site: http://www.nocards.org file |
The
Auto-ID Center's response to date: "irrelevant
non-answer"On July 14, CASPIAN received a response to our "three simple questions" letter from Auto ID Center Director Kevin Ashton.
CASPIAN characterizes the response as an irrelevant "non-answer” since it fails to address the three specific, consumer-related questions.
Read the Auto-ID Center's letter
We
need labeling. CASPIAN proposes "RFID Right to Know Act of
2003"
Law would
help consumers identify products equipped with tracking
chips
We are currently seeking a Congressional sponsor to introduce the legislation. If you arrange a meeting with your federal (or state) lawmaker, we will arrange for CASPIAN members in your area to join you. To participate, write to: mailto:%20"legislation@nocards.org"
Click here to read our press release: "Consumer Group Unveils Labeling Legislation"
Click here for the full text and a summary of the bill
CBS Evening News features CASPIAN's John
Vanderlippe
Over
6 million viewers learn the truth: Grocery cards are a
scam
Millions of television viewers tuned in to hear CASPIAN's Associate Director John Vanderlippe explain that supermarket "loyalty" cards rip consumers off with higher prices -- in addition to spying on our purchasing habits. But don't take CASPIAN's word for it -- CBS did its own price comparison and confirmed what the Wall Street Journal and countless other news outlets have already discovered -- prices are higher at stores with cards.
See the CBS Evening News website for more on this story
More Media Coverage
CASPIAN has been featured on hundreds of radio and television programs around the world
 |
 |
 |
| CASPIAN founder Katherine
Albrecht discusses RFID perils with Business
Week |
Emmy-award-winning ABC 15 of
Phoenix takes an in-depth look at RFID. Features an interview
with CASPIAN's Mary Starrett [video link] |
CASPIAN shares RFID concerns
with 12 million listeners on NPR's All Things Considered |
Ohio
grocer "segments" shoppers with personalized prices
Shopper card data being put to
discriminatory uses, just as we predicted
Dorothy
Lane Market in Ohio has implemented Customer Specific Pricing (CSP), (a
practice where different prices are given to each group of customers), and
now the majority of all discounts only go to the top 30% of their
shoppers.
Click here to read the full
story
Target Stores to get
"loyalty" card
Chain plans to introduce purchase surveillance cards later this
year
Target Corp., the store selling DVD's with hidden RFID
devices inside to unsuspecting consumers, will introduce a loyalty program
for its smart cards in the next few months. Consumers will insert their
cards into kiosks at the entrance to receive discounts and other
promotions. Michael V. Howe, president and chief executive officer of Catuity Inc., said, "The program will check the
customers’ past behavior and offer them something relevant."
Target
is an Auto-ID Center sponsor and one of the privacy bad guys, so
the last thing we want is
for them to "check" our "past behavior." Hey, Target, instead of playing
Big Brother, how about offering us something really relevant, like an
RFID-free shopping experience?
Click here for the full story from
Kiosk Marketplace
|
Kroger Sale Prices
Examined |
|
Media Requests:
Requests for interviews should
be sent via email.
Reporters on deadline: call (877) 287-5854.
CASPIAN
Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and
Numbering
An information clearinghouse and
resource for community and national action
© 1999-2003 Katherine Albrecht. All rights
reserved.