rfid industry attempts to suppress damaging photos

Photographs of RFID Clothing Labels "Unauthorized"
Advanstar threatens CASPIAN founder: Pull or else!

Photographs taken by privacy activist and writer Katherine Albrecht at
the Frontline Expo 2004 conference are "unauthorized" according to
Advanstar. The event management/PR firm has threatened to ban Albrecht,
founder and director of CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy
Invasion and Numbering) from future events it organizes unless she
"refrain[s] from making the photos available."

The photographs in dispute show Checkpoint RFID-enabled prototypes of
Abercrombie & Fitch, Calvin Klein, Champion and other name brand
clothing labels.

"The notion that I somehow 'surreptitiously' photographed the displays
at your event is baffling," Albrecht said in a written response to
Advanstar. She characterized Advanstar�s threat as "an attempt to
censor
images that fairly and accurately depict the activities that took place
at their conference."

Advanstar�s censorship "request," and Albrecht�s response are
posted at:

http://www.spychips.com/frontline-letter.html

Advanstar made the decision to designate Albrecht as "press" for the
event. A sign posted at the entrance to the exhibit hall indicated
anyone designated as 'press' could take photographs. In addition to
representing her organization's online RFID publication,
www.spychips.com, Albrecht attended the event to gather information for
a well-known computer industry magazine.

"The photographs I took of RFID tags hidden in clothing labels and
other
consumer items document an issue of great public concern, and I plan to
publish them over Advanstar's objections," said Albrecht. "The RFID
industry's efforts to keep these images hidden underscores the danger
the public faces from this powerful and insidious surveillance
technology and the companies that would deploy it in secrecy."

In addition to the RFID clothing tag photos, Albrecht also documented
the item-level tagging of Huggies baby wipes, Kimberly Clark diapers,
Nyquil cold medicine, CVS vitamins, Similac baby formula, and Lanacane
cream. Rather than bow to censorship demands, Albrecht has also posted
these images at:

http://www.spychips.com/more-frontline-photos.html

The RFID tagging of these items is disturbing from a consumer privacy
standpoint, since the RFID industry has lately assured lawmakers and
the
press that they are interested only in "supply side" inventory tracking
on crates and pallets.

Item-level tagging of consumer goods violates a call for a moratorium
issued by CASPIAN and over 40 of the world's leading privacy and civil
liberties organizations last November.

================================================== ===================

CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering)
is a grass-roots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes
since 1999. With thousands of members in all 50 U.S. states and over 30
countries worldwide, CASPIAN seeks to educate consumers about marketing
strategies that invade their privacy and to encourage privacy-conscious
shopping habits across the retail spectrum.

For more information, see:
http://www.spychips.com and http://www.nocards.org

You're welcome to duplicate and distribute this message to others who
may find it of interest.

================================================== ===================

To subscribe or unsubscribe to the CASPIAN mailing list, click the
following link or copy and paste it into your browser:
http://www.nocards.org/cgi/mojo/mojo.cgi

If you have difficulty with the web-based interface, you may also
subscribe or unsubscribe via email by writing to:
[email protected]

================================================== ===================