Don't Let Your Privacy Rights Be Chipped Away!

Would you allow a stranger to sift through your purse or wallet and take your driver’s license? Would you want your children or grandchildren to tell passers-by on the street what school they attend or their student ID numbers?

Of course not. You know it is important to protect your and your family’s personal information.

But any time that tiny computer chips called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are included in California IDs, like drivers’ licenses, student badges, or medical and benefit cards, your and your family’s personal information can be at greater risk of being read and recorded without your knowledge.

Anyone with an RFID scanner can read the data stored on insecure RFID chips, from a distance, without you ever knowing, exposing you and your family members to the risk of tracking, stalking, and identity theft.

Take Action Here

Right now, two bills authored by State Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) that would help protect the privacy of you and your family are on the governor’s desk. Please send a letter to the governor urging him to sign the bills.

SB 29 would inform parents and obtain their consent before a school issues a child an RFID device.

SB 31 would make it a crime for someone to intentionally read the information on your ID document from a distance without your knowledge and consent.

We need your help to get the governor to sign both SB 29 and SB 31.

You and your family have the right to privacy, financial security, and personal safety. Say it loud and clear to the governor: Don’t Chip Our Rights Away!

Thank you.

ACLU of Northern California

P.S. For more information on SB 29 and SB 31, visit the Don’t Chip Our Rights Away page on our Web site. You may also visit our Bills to Watch section to find out more about the other civil liberties legislation the ACLU is working on in Sacramento.