Contactless cards by another name are still RFID tags

There has been a sharp outcry by privacy advocate experts that the US government is going to use "Contactless chips" when they replace the bar code system that they have in place now.

The dept of homeland security has inquired about changing the name of RFID tags to "Contactless chips" so it seems like they are not using RFID at all.

Now the question is are these smart chips RFID or not. Even though we use E-Zpass at tolls and they are not called RFID tags why should another type of tag not have its own name. The New York City Transit has just implemented their version as an acceptable way of paying the fare on the Lexington Avenue line.

The company that is renaming or we should say calling these chips Contactless chips is Phillips. It is just a matter of time before they start changing the names of the chips to something else just so not to say RFID is involved at all.

Of course when any government is involved in something like this it raises a few eyebrows. The government is also tinkering with the idea that these chips will be placed in a passport which is great for air travel as known bad guys will be known as soon as they pass through a reader. But that can also come at a great cost to the taxpayer to implement.

USA Plans for Microchip Passports

In a move marked with controversy, the U.S. Department of State has plans to introduce a new type of passport fitted with a Radio-Frequency Identification Chip (RFID) and biometric readability.

While State Department officials purport the move will add a new safety feature to the passport, opponents fear the information will be accessible to anyone with an electronic reader, making Americans easy targets for criminals and terrorists.

Current plans call for the new passport technology to be launched by mid-year 2005, but the debate seems far from over. Just this week the Association of Corporate Travel Executives released a statement condemning the move.