I think the argument about the functional equivalency of howling RFID cards and cellphones where privacy is concerned highlights another important point: piecemeal solutions to the privacy concerns with particular technologies, whether technological or legislative, have little effect on the overall erosion of privacy.

Which suggests that we need a solution--again, either legislative or technological--that encompasses all vectors for privacy invasion. Recognizing a constitutional right is a plausible first step, since the right can influence cultural expectations about how technology should preserve rather than erode privacy. This can in turn influence technology architects and hopefully meta privacy-protecting legislation along the lines of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

-- AndreiVoinigescu - 10 Apr 2009