Modern Materials Handling's Bob Trebilcock looks at efforts by privacy advocates to limit the use of RFID to applications that never touch the consumer without a person's consent.

"Last May, Wisconsin became the first state to pass legislation restricting the use of RFID technology," Trebilcock writes. "The bill makes it a crime to require an individual to be implanted with an RFID tag or microchip that could be used to track their movements."

And it's not just about implanted chips. Liz McIntyre, communication director for CASPIAN Consumer Advocacy and author of Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Move with RFID, says RFID should be limited to tracking pallets in a warehouse. "Where we draw the line is when it's placed on individual items and cartons that consumers will interact with on the sales floor and buy," she says.

"Their concerns have gotten the attention of some state legislators," Trebilcock writes. "At least a dozen states, including California, Massachusetts, Nevada, Tennessee and Texas, have considered bills affecting RFID. Most of those would require manufacturers and retailers to notify consumers prior to a sale of the presence of RFID tracking devices on the products they're buying."

"The reason for the bill of rights is to control the power of government," McIntyre says. "We have to be careful to guard our civil rights and privacy."