CA school drops spy-chip ID
p2pnet.net News:- The principal of the California school that forced its students to wear spy-chip ID cards around their necks says he’s disappointed the project has collapsed.
Pupils at the Brittan Elementary School in Sutter near Yuba City had RFID (Radion Frequency Identification) badges that held their names, photos, grades, school names, class year and a four-digit school ID number.
A wireless transmitter transmitted the ID number to a teacher’s handheld computer when each child passed under an antenna above a classroom door.
However, Sutter-based technology company InCom Corp that developed the technology pulled out, says the San Francisco Chronicle.
"I’m disappointed; that’s about all I can say at this point," it has Earnie Graham, the superintendent and principal saying. "I think I let my staff down. Nobody on this campus knows every student."
But, "I’m not convinced it’s over," parent Dawn Cantrall, who filed a complaint with the American Civil Liberties Union, told the (Marysville) Appeal-Democrat, is quoted as saying.
"I’m happy for now that kids are not being tagged, but I’m still fighting to keep it out of our school system. It has to stop here."
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See:-
spy-chip ID cards - Spy chips track Brittan students, p2pnet, February 10, 2005
InCom Corp – Co. Pulls Out of Deal to Track Students, San Francisco Chronicle, February 16, 2005
February 18th, 2005 at 1:12 pm
What disturbs me in this case is the fact that the school was going ahead with this despite the objections of so many parents. Maybe the pressure and widespread outcry against this cattle tagging was what made the RFID company decide to pull the plug on this experiment. Let this be for the record, “I am against any mandatory tracking system for anyone who is not serving a sentence for a crime.” William Keeley