August 28, 2006
Future Opportunities: RFID Law
Given all the concern about RFID in terms of security and privacy issues, it's not surprising that the Australian DHS (Dept of Human Services) hire the law firm of Minter Ellison to act as a legal advisor for the planned smartcard project. Under this new program, to start in 2008, citizens will have access to health and social services. The firm has previous experience with technology projects. [via Web Wereld] While there's no issue of implantation of RFID chips, this is still a good idea.
This is something that all young wanna-be lawyers should note. While articles from 2004 indicate that US alone will have 4 million lost jobs due to RFID, there will be new jobs created. One area will be in the area of technology law in the near future - and I wouldn't doubt, patent law, civil liberties, etc. This includes both RFID (radio frequency identification) and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technologies. I'm predicting this not only because I write a lot about technology, but my research shows that there will be a severe shortage of skilled workers in RFID.
The result of this, I feel, is that many companies will rush into implementation with out an appropriate project analysis phase, and without skilled consultants. Result? Lawsuits in the area of privacy and security, in particular. Unfortunate but very likely.
For more information about law and RFID, I'll recommend RFID Law Blog.
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