The EC has announced at Cebit a strategy for radio frequency identification (RFID) tags with an emphasis on protecting people’s right to privacy.

RFID, or smart radio tags, are increasingly used for tagging products and other items in many industries and can be scanned and tracked using radio signals.

The global RFID market is growing by 60 per cent every year and is worth £340m in Europe right now. This is projected to grow to £4.7bn within 10 years. However, there are fears that the technology can be abused to track people and their activities.

The EC said it will form an RFID stakeholder Group this year with industry partners and the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party to develop a European-wide policy.

“From fighting counterfeits to better healthcare, smart RFID-chips offer tremendous opportunities for business and society,” said Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding. “Last year I said here at Cebit that we should stimulate the use of RFID technology in Europe whilst safeguarding personal data and privacy.”

“The Commission's Europe-wide public consultation in 2006 identified a strong lack of awareness and considerable concern among citizens. The Commission's RFID strategy will therefore seek to raise awareness, stress the absolute need for citizens to decide how their personal data is used and ensure that Europe removes existing obstacles to RFID's enormous potential.”

By this summer, the EC will propose amendments to the e-Privacy Directive to include RFID applications. There will also be an investigation into the economic and social effects of smart radio tags and other technologies.

This will focus mainly on the issues on privacy, trust and governance which will be taken into account into for new legislation being proposed for the end of 2008.