Patent Filing Highlights RFID's Tracking Potential

Dr. Katherine Albrecht, founder and director of CASPIAN Consumer Advocacy (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering), presented information on the patent filing at a conference held last month in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Consumer Federation of America.

In the 2005 patent filing, American Express provided information on RFID readers it called "consumer trackers," which could be set up to monitor consumers' shopping behavior and movements while they're in stores.

In one scenario outlined in the patent filing, a store could set up RFID readers at each end of an aisle and use an RFID-tagged item carried by the customer to identify and track them as they pass by the readers.

Another section raises the possibility of using RFID technology to obtain information about consumer behavior and their reactions to special deals. "For example, suppliers of goods may wish to test the effectiveness of specific targeted offers, which may be tailored to individual consumers..." reads Section 0004 of the filing.

The filing also includes information on how RFID could be used to spam customers with advertising -- and potentially, specially crafted smells -- as they're walking around the store, Albrecht noted.

"For example, the presentation to consumers may be configured as any combination of an emission of a printed advertisement, a display of a moving or static video image, a performance of a sound recording, or even an emission of a scent " reads Section 0213 of the filing.

Albrecht, who co-authored "Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Move with RFID," says she was approached at the event by an American Express executive who didn't believe the patent actually existed.

However, after meeting with CASPIAN last week, American Express executives said they wouldn't engage in any type of RFID-based consumer tracking without letting consumers know they were being tracked, according to Albrecht.

A spokesperson for American Express said the firm has no plans to track consumers or its customers using RFID and would always obtain consent before launching any type of RFID tracking initiative.

"Patent applications tend to be written pretty broadly, and general information about how the technology can be used in often included," said the spokesperson.