NoSSN - Grocery Manufacturers of America Issues Apology to RFID Privacy Activist

Grocery Manufacturers of America Issues Apology to RFID Privacy Activist
January 12, 2004

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 12, 2004

Grocery Manufacturers of America Issues Apology to RFID Privacy Activist

Character assassination not condoned, says GMA CEO

GMA CEO C. Manly Molpus issued an apology for an errant email that suggested the organization might be formulating a smear campaign against an RFID privacy activist. According to email evidence, a GMA employee emailed Katherine Albrecht, Founder and Director of Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN), to request a copy of her bio, "for our sources." Ms. Albrecht found the request unusual and emailed a request for further information.

To her surprise, she received a message that was clearly intended for someone else:

I don't know what to tell this woman! "Well, actually we're trying to see if you have a juicy past that we could use against you."

In his response, CEO Molpus explained that the comments were made on the part of an intern and were a "youthful indiscretion." He added, "Her request for a copy of your bio was simply part of a normal effort to obtain information about those who lead organizations with an interest in industry issues."

When Ms. Albrecht was asked whether she found the explanation plausible, she said, “Most people I've spoken to think GMA had less than honorable intentions, but regardless of the original intent, I want to thank Mr. Molpus for his prompt response to this issue and his assurance that such behavior is not condoned by GMA."

She indicated she also received an apology by phone from Richard Martin, GMA Vice President of Communications, who oversees the department in which the intern works.

"GMA has expressed an interest in participating in further discussions about the use of RFID in consumer goods," said Albrecht. "We look forward to a future dialog with them and member companies about the serious privacy and civil liberties implications of RFID technology."

CASPIAN, along with the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, the ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), and others, recently issued a position statement calling for "a voluntary moratorium on the item-level RFID tagging of consumer items until a formal technology assessment process...can take place." The statement, which was endorsed by over 40 of the world's leading privacy and civil liberties organizations, is available at

http://www.spychips.com/jointrfid_position_paper.htm

"Perhaps we have now created the bridge to facilitate the talks we need," says Albrecht. "Hopefully, that's the 'silver lining' to this unfortunate incident."

CEO Molpus's complete response, as well as the email evidence, is posted at the CASPIAN RFID web sites:

http://www.spychips.com

Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN) is a grass-roots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes since 1999. With members in all 50 U.S. states and over 20 nations across the globe, CASPIAN seeks to educate consumers about marketing strategies that invade their privacy and to encourage privacy-conscious shopping habits across the retail spectrum.

For more information, see

http://www.spychips.com

and

http://www.nocards.org

Katherine Albrecht, CASPIAN Founder and Director: (877) 287-5854

Liz McIntyre, CASPIAN Communications: (877) 287-5854 or

liz@nocards.org

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We encourage you to duplicate and distribute this message to others.

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To subscribe or unsubscribe to the CASPIAN mailing list, click the following link or cut and paste it into your browser:

http://www.nocards.org/cgi/mojo/mojo.cgi

If you have difficulty with the web-based interface, you may also subscribe or unsubscribe via email by writing to:

admin@nocards.org

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For CASPIAN's overview of RFID product identification and tracking technology, please see:

http://www.stoprfid.org/rfid_overview.htm

"As long as the superstition that people should obey unjust laws exists, so long will slavery exist." -- M. K. Gandhi

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