By John Leyden for The Register.
This story has been reproduced with permission.
The Identity Information Protection Act of 2006 (SB 768), which
would have introduced privacy laws to safeguard personal data
stored on radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in
government-issued documents and identification cards, was one of 73
bills that Schwarzenegger declined to sign against 110 he signed
onto the state's statute books late last month.
The bill was designed to safeguard against either criminal or
government abuse of RFID tags by mandating the use of
privacy-protecting technologies such as encryption. The bill would
also give Californians the right to decide who can access their
personal information stored on RFID cards in documents such as
driver's licences and library cards.
Legislation on RFID is "premature", the film star turned
Republican politician argues. He also said the bill might impede
the introduction of contactless technologies by Californian state
agencies that had the potential to streamline operations and cut
expenses.
"I am concerned that the bill's provisions are over-broad and
may unduly burden the numerous beneficial new applications of
contactless technology," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
"SB 768, which would impose technology regulations on
RFID-enabled ID cards and public documents, is premature. The
federal government, under the REAL ID Act, has not yet released new
technology standards to improve the security of government ID
cards. SB 768 may impose requirements in California that would
contradict the federal mandates soon to be issued."
The rejection of the bill, passed by California's Senate in
September, is a set-back for privacy activists such as the American
Civil Liberties Union who hoped the bill might provide a framework
for hoped-for federal legislation on the issue.
California State Senator Joe Simitian, a Democrat from Palo
Alto, who drafted the bill, has previously vowed to continue to
push privacy legislation on RFID chip even if his initial
legislative push failed.
"If [Governor Schwarzenegger] vetoes, the bill is dead for this
two-year session and I can come back in 2007-2008," said Senator
Simitian. "I'm in the middle of my first four year term," Simitian
told eWeek.
© The Register
2006
