Clothing retailer Marks & Spencer this week said it is moving forward with its test of tagging individual products with RFID tags that can automate inventory and stocking.
RFID tags are tiny transponders that can communicate at short distances with reading devices. The trial bends over backward to address privacy concerns: The tags are conspicuous, shoppers can ask to have them removed, and readers will be used only after hours when no consumers are present. But Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN) wants the test stopped.
http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/3093101
Posted by holtzman at October 18, 2003 01:16 AMHere are some photos of the Marks & Spencer RFID tag label currently being tested on men's suits, shirts and ties at their High Wycombe branch:
http://www.spy.org.uk/spyblog/archives/000076.html
There are some hard to find stacks of small leaflets at the payment tills, explaining a bit about the labels, but these are not very prominent, so although technically M&S are being more open than say Tescos with respect to informing the public, it is not by very much.
Posted by: Watching Them, Watching Us at October 24, 2003 10:16 PMTthe M&S labels have "Please retain this label for refund and exchange" printed on them , yet there are no RFID readers at the payment tills to allow them to be used for such processing.
This does seem to support the report that the M&S RFID tag deployment plans have been altered by consumer privacy group pressure.