On the surface, Western technology seems to keep personal privacy to a minimum. Sophisticated credit card databases follow the effects of US consumers' buying power. Citizens have their purchases tracked while they establish purchasing identities that then become salable public property. Consumer movement could be examined via locatable automated purchases, tollbooths, and even cellular location systems indexed against phone and credit card records. Privacy-aware consumers fight to protect and keep private their own data: social security and credit card numbers, date of birth, mothers' maiden names, biometric data, and other means of personal identification.
In the United States, the government attempts to balance citizens' privacy concerns with the sophisticated lobbying of the credit-card-related industries. Privacy laws have emerged that attempt to limit the information dissemination from these sophisticated databases. However, a nagging insecurity about the lack of privacy, although an acknowledged part of life in the United States, is disconcerting to many.
The Lightening Rod RFID has come to the forefront during a period of heightened political and economic insecurity. The brilliant minds that conceived and propagated the vision of ubiquitous RFID probably did not anticipate the backlash that this insecurity could muster. The fragmented nature of the RFID industry does not help matters, either. Because of their inability to create a high-profile, sustained media campaign, RFID industry proponents have been unable to provide influential voices of calm.
The US media's sensationalistic portrayal of RFID has resulted in actions unfortunate for responsible RFID industry proponents. Key regulations in various US states are now being proposed as prophylactic measures, without necessarily giving the industry sufficient time to educate and respond effectively.
The Indian Perspective India has been discussing a privacy law for some time now. Currently, items typically associated with an individual's privacy profile-social Security number, mother's maiden name, date of birth, or fingerprints-are freely handed out by local citizens. In India, many less educated people use a thumbprint in lieu of a signature, and all fingers are printed when people register a land deed at the registrar. Mothers' maiden names are known by most and dates of births are freely provided and are required by most commercial organizations. In fact, those who resist giving their birth date or fingerprint attract glaring stares.
In Asia, the following societal predispositions may assist the rapid adoption of RFID:
Frequent absence of governmental regulation over new types of technologies and industries
Lack of a historical installed base around technology
Cultures that don't necessarily view emerging technologies with suspicion
Lack of widespread public and governmental debate around adoption of new technologies
An abundance of non-democratic governments
The absence of a prevalent unfettered press
However, as the citizens of this rapidly growing economy are also rapidly increasing in buying power, marketing companies, many of which are unscrupulous in their techniques, are easily extracting information from unsuspecting consumers to build Western-style databases.
In India, the adoption of credit and smart cards is raising awareness today of confidentiality and secure access rather than of privacy. Indians seems to commonly believe that information about oneself is not truly confidential. In a society where personal information in known by many, Indian citizens would like confidential and secure access for their financial transactions first. Personal privacy, although desirable, is usually of lower priority.
India's closest attempt at pro-privacy legislation is The Information Technology Act of 2000. This Act includes provisions that cover unauthorized access and data theft from computers and networks, with a violation penalty of approximately $2000,000. At the same time, however, the Act does not have specific provisions for privacy of data.
India's success in the outsourcing business seems to have hastened consideration of an amendment to the Information Technology Act. New clauses will be added that will conform to the European Union's Data Protection Directive and the US Safe Haven privacy norms. Customers in the United States and Europe are having a positive effect and are primary drivers of adopting strict security and confidentiality norms.
Privacy Across Asia China has its own concepts of privacy. Although it is likely to consider data protection laws for its global clients through a Personal Data Protection Bill, the personal privacy concerns of Chinese citizens are not expected to emerge as major issues in the near future.
Japan's primary pro-privacy legislation is the 1998 Act for the Protection of Computer Processed Personal Data. The Personal Data Protection Bill, passed in 2003, may also have some applicability to RFID technology deployments. Overall, however, the perception of many in Japan is that privacy laws are discussed mostly in theory but have less impact on actual practice.
South Korea is unique in Asia in that it has a seemingly comprehensive privacy and data protection law. A current (2204) bill aims to ensure that the government at all levels can collect private information only with an individual's consent. This bill also specifies that reasons for the collection of personal information must be stated clearly on relevant documents and Web sites. Further, Korea's Ministry of Information and Communication intends to develop; regulations targeted to mobile service providers, which have thus far avoided privacy laws for tracking users.
Malaysia does not have clear laws that address data privacy, nor does it adhere to international privacy agreements. The situation is similar in countries such as Indonesia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
It is important to acknowledge that privacy continues to evolve and is a dynamic concept across Asia countries.
The Government Push In many ways, today's Asian governments and corporations have a level of automation that has not been seen in the United States for more than 25 years. Throughout Asia, there is still an enormous installed base of paper records.
On the other hand, many Asian governments are rushing ahead and could soon surpass the United States in their adoption of information technology and so-called e-Governance initiatives, For example, the Indian and Chinese governments are planning to create huge databases to provide smart electronic identity cards to all citizens. When they do, hundreds of millions, if not billions, of consumers will instantly be using RFID-based technology via smart cards on a daily basis
Cultural Predisposition of Technology Unlike the United States and its counterparts, most developing countries have not experienced decades of widespread technology adoption, and thus, lack a comparative installed base of technology adoption experience.
Rather, technology adoption has been associated with form, function, and consumer status or fashion. Technology is popularly associated with the application that it leverages rather than the technology itself. As an example, many Asians have adopted cell phones for status, form, and function more rapidly than Americans have. Not only are cell phones cool, they also provide the voice-to-voice communication that is so important to the cultures of many countries in the region. The status-conscious Asian has also begun to associate adoption of new technologies as a key status differentiator. The actual technology behind the phones is vastly secondary.
Establishment of National Identities Countries are increasingly using specialized technology as a means to establish and leverage competitive national identities. A recent example is India's unprecedented leadership in outsourcing. This industry, now the talk of the international business world, was nonexistent in the region a few years ago. China has successfully taken a leadership role in low-cost manufacturing. The Philippines is also aggressively pursuing outsourcing, as are other counties attempting to establish national identities in this space.
The World Trade Organization (WTO), with its combined threat and opportunity for global competition, has also proven to be a strong catalyst for nations to search for and establish new areas of globally competitive differentiation.
It is fair to assume that the need for identity-based personal privacy is not only a Western privilege but perhaps also a Western construct. Thus, the Asian adoption of RFID technologies will be conditional not on privacy issues but rather on practicality of the applications that RFID enables.
Based on excerpts from the Book- RFID Applications, Security, and Privacy Chapter-Asia: Billions Awaken To RFID Author: Bimal Sareen
