SIA Opposes Senate Bills Limiting RFID Technology
Alexandria, Va.
The Security Industry Association (SIA) addressed the
organization’s opposition to Senate Bill 768, the Identity
Information Protection Act of 2005, in a letter to State
Senator Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto (Calif.), who is
sponsoring the measure to limit radio frequency
identification (RFID) technology.
The bill, introduced by Simitian in February 2005, would
prohibit the use of radio waves to “transmit personal
information or to enable personal information to be read
remotely” in drivers’ licenses or other state ID cards.
“SIA and its members agree there may be some legitimate
concerns about the use of RFID technology in certain
applications,” SIA Executive Director Richard Chace stated
in the letter. “However, we strongly believe these
legislative proposals could have dire unintended
consequences on technology used to ensure the validity of
identification credentials. The legislation could set
several dangerous precedents.”
SIA represents more than 340 manufacturers,
distributors, and integrators of electronic and physical
security equipment. The association announced it is also
odds with Senate Bills 432, 682 and 1078, all of which SIA
maintains could seriously impede the use of RFID
technology.
“The legislation seems to assume that technology
innovation is a static phenomena where problems are
actually solved quickly and effectively through rapid
innovations,” the letter continues. “What SIA is concerned
with in this regard is that the limitations being placed on
RFID technology could actually set the stage for the use of
obsolete technologies that are actually less safe than
those that would otherwise become available in an open,
high-tech society in the future.”
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