Bowen's hearing in California took place. This article on C|Net includes quotes from the hearing, and concludes:
Bowen said that the introduction of legislation to control the use of RFID is "possible," but that she's not at the bill stage yet. Even if she were to draft a bill, it would not be her goal to outlaw RFID, she said. Bowen herself uses a special pet-tracking chip that uses RFID to keep tabs on her cats.
"Is the goal of this hearing is to restrict the use of the technology? No," Bowen said. "It's not our goal to create legislation that says this technology could never be used. It's to gain a better understanding."
Bowen, who is the chair of the legislative subcommittee on new technologies, has been on the forefront of the antispam legislation movement. An outspoken advocate of consumer privacy, Bowen also helped draft and introduce bills that would regulate face recognition technology, consumer data collected by cable and satellite television companies, and shopper loyalty cards used in grocery chains.
Policymakers in Britain are also starting to ponder the privacy implications of RFID. A member of Britain's Parliament recently submitted a motion for debate on the regulation of RFID devices when the government returns from its summer recess next month.