Wal-Mart's new smart tags on men's clothes worry privacy experts

AP via Houston Chronicle ^ | 7-23-2010 | ANNE D'INNOCENZIO

[deport]

The tracking continues to expand......

[glorgau]

they can't be turned off

Microwaves work nicely...

[OneWingedShark]

Question: would .5 seconds in my microwave neutralize the tracking info?

[Drill Thrawl]

I predict a huge market for devices that can disable these things.

Certain items should not be put in microwave ovens.

[teletech]

But can they withstand multiple whacks with an 8 lb. sledge hammer? Remove, destroy, problem solved.

[rahbert]

the fearmongering continues..

[omega4179]

It is a tag , not a part of the clothing.

[A CA Guy]

Considering the thefts in retail, I say GOOD.

More stores close down from crooks then the rent these days.

[Syntyr]

If your that worried the next time you buy a bunch of jeans from WalMart take the tags off and go stick them on the underside of a car in the parking lot. That will cause the tracker units from that store to follow the car and get totally confused why that car needed so many jeans! It might even cause them to go haywire...

[PurVirgo]

yeah, but unless you pay for everything with cash, retailers have been collecting data on you for years now!!

And even your cash purchases are tracked for trending and marketing purposes.

[La Lydia]

Why does Walmart want to track you and your pants after you have paid for them?

[SunTzuWu]

...will have removable smart tags that can be read from a distance by Wal-Mart workers with scanners.

They are removable folks, calm down. This is no different than tagging them with that huge plastic anti-theft device that screams when you go through the door. If you fail to remove it and other tags after you have bought it, you are stupid. Nothing at all to do with privacy.

[OneWingedShark]

More [somewhat related] Info:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/022904rfidtagsexplode.html

[verity]

Paranoid nonsense by busy bodies.

[cripplecreek]

will have removable smart tags

The story died right there for me.

Gettin so a man can't steal nothin anymore. Fascists. LOL

[thackney]

And even your cash purchases are tracked for trending and marketing purposes

How, do you believe, my cash purchase is tied to me?

[burroak]

They don’t. It’s just another attempt to demonize Wal-Mart.

Union thuggery.

[MarkeyD]

I think the thing that is most stolen at the Walmart I go to is those blue, hand held shopping baskets. They have to stock up on those about every 90 days.

[mongo141]

Just remove the damn thing and toss it into Wally Worlds trash bin on your way out the door or if its the sticky back kind stick it on a vehicle that has an Obozo/Biden sticker on it if you can find one.

[MarkeyD]

I read that in the future those tags will be able to read your thoughts and then will be able to report you to the police about future crimes you will commit.