Tell Governor Schwarzenegger: Protect Our Privacy and Regulate RFIDs

If you are not on our action alert list I highly suggest you sign up. We regularly target critically important bills in the California Legislature that the politicians need to hear from us about. We know this: the corporate lobbyists will be working the halls of the capitol and contributing sizable amounts of loot to wavering legislators.

You can sign up for our alerts (we just did one on two RFID bills sitting on the Governor's desk). All you have to do is go to our home page and type in your email and zip code.

Here's yesterday's alert which you can still take action on:

Tiny computer chips called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags that transmit information about us can be embedded in driver's licenses, student ID's and other government issued cards without our knowledge. These chips allow government agencies to track our whereabouts, are susceptible to a hacker with an RFID scanner, and expose us to the threat of privacy violations, identity theft, property theft, and stalking and tracking. Even protected RFID systems have been hacked, some in a matter of minutes.

The rapid evolution of ever intrusive technology makes it essential that we draw the line now. Two privacy protection bills introduced by Senator Joe Simitian (SB 29 and SB 31) are awaiting Governor Schwarzenegger's signature or veto. They address privacy concerns and problems with "skimming" - the unauthorized surreptitious reading of RFIDs by persons with malicious intent.

Tell the Governor to protect our privacy!

Senate Bill 29 requires public schools to obtain a parent's voluntary consent before a student is required to carry an RFID-enabled identification card. It requires a school to explain to parents the risks RFIDs pose to personal privacy.

Senate Bill 31 makes it unlawful to skim information from an RFID without the consent of the ID holder. The prohibition does not apply to law enforcement applications such as in prisons, or in valid health emergency situations.

Tell the Governor to protect the California Constitution and our personal privacy by supporting SB 29 and 31!

Here's the actual letter that goes to the Governor:

I am writing to urge you to curb and control the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology by signing SB 29 and SB 31.

RFID-enabled human identification systems pose clear privacy and information security risks that threaten individual privacy and public safety. These systems can be easily compromised, which exposes device holders to identity theft, surveillance, stalking and tracking, and other serious harm. When the system has been breached, the device holder won’t know it and therefore won’t know to take steps to protect him or herself.

These threats to our privacy and safety are real. Consider:

• A California school district embedded RFIDs in student IDs without the parents' knowledge, and only stopped after an outcry about the potential for hacking by a child abductor.

• A Dutch prototype for an RFID embedded in a passport was hacked in two hours by a local TV station. Hackers could access fingerprint, photograph, and other data on the RFID tag, perfect for creating a cloned passport.

• Successful hacks of the Exxon Mobile key fob, the VeriChip human RFID implant, the California State Capitol building access system, and the new RFID passports show how easy it is to skim and clone poorly protected RFID devices and compromise RFID-dependent security systems.

Senate Bill 29 requires public schools to obtain a parent’s voluntary consent before a student is required to carry an RFID-enabled identification card. It requires a school to explain to parents the risks RFIDs pose to personal privacy.

Senate Bill 31 makes it unlawful to skim information from an RFID without the consent of the ID holder. The prohibition does not apply to law enforcement applications such as in prisons, or in valid health emergency situations.

Organizations across the political spectrum ranging from the ACLU to the Liberty Coalition support these bills. High tech RFID manufacturers have derailed similar legislation by Senator Simitian in the past, and they continue to fight any effort to allow California residents to control the use of RFIDs in government-issued documents.

I urge you to establish an important precedent for privacy protection and against Big Brother snooping by signing SB 29 and SB 31.

The Governor needs to hear from every last one of us as the lobbying against SB 29 in particular is intense. Thanks!