Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry vetoed a bill that would have prevented radio frequency identification (RFID) tags from being put into driver’s licenses and state identification cards.
The Security Industry Association (SIA) opposed the legislation and wrote to the governor urging him veto the bill.
“SIA members are concerned that HB 2569 could have dire unintended consequences on technology used to ensure the validity of identification credentials,” the letter from SIA CEO Richard Chace states. “If enacted into law, this proposal would drive the use of alternative technologies that are less secure and more likely to compromise the personal information of Oklahomans.”
The proposed legislation grew out of fears that the use of RFID technology will have negative effects on privacy, but the SIA letter states that such concerns reflect “common misperceptions about RFID applications that are based upon twisted facts and emotions generated by ill-informed ‘privacy rights’ advocates.”
SIA did acknowledge that “there may be some legitimate concerns about the use of RFID technology in certain applications” and offered to work with the governor and Oklahoma lawmakers “to ensure that legitimate privacy concerns associated with the use of RFID applications are thoroughly researched and analyzed by government and industry technical experts.”
