Logo for "Silence of the Chips" program to give off-switches to RFIDs

Inspired by this European Digital Rights Initiative article on "The Silence of the Chips" (a proposal to redesign your radio-enabled ID cards so that you can control when they work and when they're switched off), Oneillkza created this CC-BY logo for the idea, and made a CafePress tee in case you wanted to add it to your sartorial repertoire.

One of the most important action point is the launch of "a debate on the technical and legal aspects of the 'right to silence of the chips', which has been referred to under different names by different authors and expresses the idea that individuals should be able to disconnect from their networked environment at any time."

This is one of the main actions of the plan in order to allow the usage of the RFID while respecting privacy and the protection of personal data, two fundamental rights of the EU.

Silence of the Chips (Flickr)

Silence of the Chips (CafePress)

(via Beyond the Beyond)

[#1 posted by Anonymous, July 3, 2009 12:08 AM]

a microwave works just as well for me.

[#2 posted by PaulR, July 3, 2009 3:36 AM]

...or a boycott.

[#3 posted by Takuan, July 3, 2009 3:48 AM]

how about an RFID reader killer with a strong enough transmitter to use from a distance?

[#4 posted by sixfngers, July 3, 2009 5:34 AM]

I just read about a company thats using a printer to make a kind of printed battery so get ready. All those RFID that were passive and needed a reader to activate could now be active and able to emit their signals on their own.

links to story below:

http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/07/02/printed-batteries-to-be-rolling-out-before-years-end/

http://www.livescience.com/technology/090702-printable-battery.html

[#5 posted by Beelzebuddy, July 3, 2009 8:14 AM]

I give this proposal a snowball's chance in hell.

The whole point of RFIDs is to be read without your permission or knowledge. If people are going to have to ask you to turn your chip on, they may as well ask you whatever directly and dispense with the RFID entirely. Any government capable of pushing out mandatory RFID legislation is capable of killing this in the womb.

[#6 posted by PJDK, July 3, 2009 8:16 AM]

Just a thought, but isn't such a system already easily implementable from a third party point of view.

If wikipedia explains things properly a system already exists in some passports so they can only be read when they are open.

A well designed wallet could do this job without to much hassle....if only I had some start up capital

Would be a bit annoying with the old oyster card though.

[#7 posted by Kieran O'Neill, July 8, 2009 11:49 PM]

Lol - been offline, so missed this when it hit.

I'm the creator of that design (Kieran O'Neill from South Africa == oneillkza).

I hope people find it fun/provocative/cool.

[#8 posted by Takuan, July 8, 2009 11:54 PM]

z'at yours? Kewl!

[#9 posted by Takuan, July 8, 2009 11:55 PM]

you never mentioned South Africa, ever read Tom Sharpe?

[#10 posted by Takuan, July 9, 2009 12:06 AM]

dewa, ato de

[#11 posted by Kieran O'Neill, July 9, 2009 12:16 AM]

Yep, that's mine.

Didn't I mention South Africa? I think I've dropped the odd hint ...

But no, I haven't read Tom Sharpe, though I probably should. You may appreciate Harold Strachan - similar kind of humour, I think, but possibly with more bitterness and cynicism. Some cool stories here, here and here (for example). The Witness website can be searched for his regular column.

[#12 posted by Takuan, July 11, 2009 12:54 PM]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Riotous-Assembly-Tom-Sharpe/dp/0099435454