"Sometimes when you are on the cutting edge, you get caught"

SUTTER, Calif. (AP) - The only grade school in this rural town is requiring students to wear radio frequency identification badges that can track their every move. Some parents are outraged, fearing it will take away their children's privacy.

The badges introduced at Brittan Elementary School on Jan. 18 rely on the same radio frequency and scanner technology that companies use to track livestock and product inventory. Similar devices have recently been used to monitor youngsters in some parts of Japan...

"Sometimes when you are on the cutting edge, you get caught," [principal and superintendent of the single-school district Earnie Graham] said, recounting the angry phone calls and notes he has received from parents...

"This is not Mayberry. This is Sutter, California. Bad things can happen here," said Tim Crabtree, an area parent.

Wired has a better article on this issue here. There appears to be an incestuous financial relationship involved. The SJ Merc editorializes on this in "Big Brother herds sheep".

(Via this)

Privacy · Fri, 02/11/2005 - 12:17 · · Importance: 1