Computer ID chips inside humans? (Insider Report).The VeriChip, made by Applied Digital Solutions, will soon be available for implantation implantation /im·plan·ta·tion/ (im?plan-ta´shun) 1. attachment of the blastocyst to the epithelial lining of the uterus, its penetration through the epithelium, and, in humans, its embedding in the stratum compactum of the under a person's skin. The VeriChip is a programmable computer chip about the size of a grain of rice that emits a radio signal when a special scanning device See scanner. is passed over it. A Florida family -- Jeffrey Jacobs, his wife Leslie, and 14-year-old son Derek -- has even volunteered to be the first to receive the chip. For now, the VeriChip will be limited to holding only a unique identification number that can be cross-referenced to Applied Digital's Global VeriChip Subscriber Registry database, set to launch on May 1, 2002. Persons implanted with the chip will provide the medical information that they want made available through the database, and pay a monthly subscription fee for the service. Though the chip could internally store a person's complete medical history, the company elected not to do this yet. The VeriChip can thus bypass Food and Drug Administration review, required only if medical data is stored directly on the chip. The VeriChip's benefits, though, must be weighed against its potential for harm. For instance, Applied Digital is working on another implant implant /im·plant/ (im-plant´) to insert or to graft (tissue, or inert or radioactive material) into intact tissues or a body cavity. device that would work with the VeriChip to link to global positioning satellites. A person's every movement -- whether kidnap victim, criminal, lost child, or political dissident Noun 1. political dissident - a dissenter from political orthodoxy dissenter, dissident, objector, protester, contestant - a person who dissents from some established policy -- could be tracked. Chip implantation, now voluntary for its medical benefits, could become mandatory for identification or for use as a nontransferable credit or debit card debit card, card that allows the cost of goods or services that are purchased to be deducted directly from the purchaser's checking account. They can also be used at automated teller machines for withdrawing cash from the user's checking account. . "The problem is that you always have to think about what the device will be used for tomorrow," said Lee Tien, a senior attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation See EFF. (body) Electronic Frontier Foundation - (EFF) A group established to address social and legal issues arising from the impact on society of the increasingly pervasive use of computers as a means of communication and information distribution. . The privacy advocacy group has a term for this: "It's what we call function creep. At first a device is used for applications we all agree are good but then it slowly is used for more than it was intended." |
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