From: mkb30@cam.ac.uk (Matthew Belmonte)
To: info@annecampbell.org.uk
Subject: RFID tags and privacy
Date: Thu, 07 Aug 2003 04:33:47 +0100

Dear Mrs Campbell

I was dismayed to read in The Guardian recently that the Cambridge Tesco will
soon begin testing a programme in which RFID tags attached to merchandise
will trigger CCTV cameras, recording images of all the people who purchase
particular products.  I'm concerned that this could be the beginning of a
trend in which RFID tags begin to be used to track the movements of ordinary
people who are not suspected of any crime.  Although I wholeheartedly agree
that RFID tags will find valuable use in automating payment for merchandise and
in providing aggregate data on customers' shopping habits, these devices must
be used to track products and not people.  I hope that the Government may
consider privacy legislation that would prevent the misuse of RFID tags, as
these tags are certain to become ubiquitous within the next several years.

Sincerely

Matthew Belmonte
[address]