Miguel Bustillo of the Wall Street Journal reports that Wal-Mart is about to expand its use of RFID tags to track clothing:
Starting next month, the retailer will place removable “smart tags” on individual garments that can be read by a hand-held scanner. Wal-Mart workers will be able to quickly learn, for instance, which size of Wrangler jeans is missing, with the aim of ensuring shelves are optimally stocked and inventory tightly watched. If successful, the radio-frequency ID tags will be rolled out on other products at Wal-Mart’s more than 3,750 U.S. stores.
Bustillo discusses the potential privacy concerns about the use of such tags on clothing. Dennis Kneale of CNBC Tech Check, however, poo-poos the privacy concerns and derides what he calls the “privacy police.”