The Associated Press reports that Missouri has passed HB 2041, which makes it a misdemeanor for any employer to “require an employee to have personal identification microchip technology implanted into the employee for any reason.” Radio frequency identification (“RFID”) technology transmits data wirelessly and is usually used to track packages in warehouses or pets.

Missouri joins the ranks of California, North Dakota (pdf) and Wisconsin (pdf), which also passed legislation forbidding the compelled implantation of RFID chips in humans. The Missouri bill awaits the governor’s signature.

A number of states are reviewing privacy and RFID use. In March, Washington state passed a law to prevent “skimming” (unauthorized gathering of data from RFID tags), and California is debating similar legislation. Alaska is considering legislation prohibiting stores from requiring that consumers agree to continued activation of RFID tags in order for consumers “to exchange, return, repair, or service an item that” contains such RFID tags. New Hampshire has a bill that would create penalties for illegal use of RFID technology, prohibit electronic tracking of individuals without a valid court order or consent, and prohibit forced implantation of RFID devices in humans.

Last year, at least 13 states introduced legislation concerning privacy and RFID technology, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 2nd, 2008 and is filed under Identification, RFID, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Possibly related posts:

• San Francisco Chronicle: Privacy concerns grow with the use of RFID tags
• NPR: Lawmakers Are Working On Anti-Brain-Chip Bill
• Missouri Likely to Become 13th State to Reject REAL ID System