I see your point, but with such a system it could be possible to make life more secure for everyone, have a more perfect criminal justice system with the authorities being able to locate and apprehend dangerous criminals who manage to evade the law...

It would also (with back-tracking) be able to establish a list of suspects in say a rape or a murder, of who was in the area at that time of night (say within a 15 minute range) and allow the police to gather more accurate information and evidence :)

Chris

i think the lack of privacy outweighs the societal benefits, or it could be because human beings are jealous in nature especially when it comes to privacy.

What privacy would that be then? They already know where you are and what you are doing anyway.

We could all get very paranoid about it now :p

Tbh I don't give a piss if the government knows Im at the strip club when I told my wife I would go home straight away (not that I would do that). Or anyone else for that matter.
If you don't want anyone to find out what you are doing, then you should either
a) not do it
b) do it on another planet where noone else is

"Privacy" is basically people claiming they have the right to do something illegal in their own homes.

This doesn't mean Im for things like DRM, since that's only convenient for the movie industry, not the end-user. This RFID is.

so basically you want the government to influence every fabric of our daily lives?

Maybe in your country but in the good 'ol US of A we have federal privacy laws. Those laws don't apply to puppies ;)

Security concerns arise if unauthorized parties are able to obtain such information either from interception of the radio communications between tags and readers, through unauthorized reading of the tags, or via unauthorized access to the network or the database.

As if there weren't enough things to dehumanize us, now there's RFID. For example, Let's look at what could happen to your privacy if you bought something as innocent as a pack of gum that used RFID. Under today's barcode technology, a pack of Wrigley's gum sold in Houston has the same barcode as a pack sold in New York City. With RFID, however, each pack would have a unique ID code which could be tied DIRECTLY to the purchaser of that gum.

The purchaser could then be tracked if s/he ever entered that same store again, or perhaps more frightening, if they entered any other store with RFID reading capability. Because, unlike a barcode, RFID tags can be read from much greater distances and the reading of such devices is non-directional. This means that if you enter a store with a pack of gum in your pocket, the reader can identify that pack of gum, the time and date you bought it, where you bought it, and how frequently you come into the store, what credit cards you use, your name, address, and e-mail. You would then receive targeted advertisements by gum companies as you walk down the aisle, or receive additional spam through your e-mail or regular mail about other products. In effect, that store would be creating a personal log of your past purchases, your shopping patterns, and ultimately your behavioral patterns. There is also the danger that such information could be sold to other retailers, (similar to the way such profiles are currently sold regarding spyware), could create potentially devastating information vulnerabilities. The technology could in fact lead to a sort of corporate "Big Brother," and there is a more widespread concern that allowing RFID to develop without legal restrictions, will eliminate the possibility for consumers to refuse to give such information to retailers. You should also worry about the possibility that companies, governments and would-be thieves might be able to monitor people's personal belongings, embedded with tiny RFID microchips, after they are purchased.

A representative from the consumer privacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation and a researcher from University of California at Los Angeles, also called for limits on the use of RFID and a technology assessment by policymakers. "It's possible to set up these systems so that there is no privacy anywhere," said Greg Pottie, an electrical engineering professor at UCLA.

Just to correct you I do live in the US. Says so right in the postbit too.

Oh well looky there. What a shame the postbit doesn't show up while you're writing a post ;)

Now if you had micro-chip technology we'd know your address, what products you used, what stores you shopped at and your complete health history (which should be a privacy violation in itself) not to mention advertisers could send you targeted advertisements about vB postbits :p

If your imagination is so limited as to not realize the implications of this, then I suggest that you either increase the dosage of your medication, or allow this technology to invade your life. Either way your horizons will soon be expanded ;) Most rational people however are trying to protect their privacy and not take it so much for granted. Live without it and you'll soon understand.

They'll get a microchip in me the day they force their way into my home (which requires getting passed a few shotguns and 6-shooters). I don't need to be tracked, if I'm lost I'm likely lost on purpose (I need my space and time ;)).

I'm also not going to spend money on having my dogs chipped. They just end up getting run over by cars anyway. I don't tie them up and they are allowed to come and go has the please, if they decide to 'move out' that's fine with me. One less mouth to feed. ;)