Tracking Junior With a Microchip
By Julia Scheeres
Oct. 10, 2003
A Mexican company has launched a service to implant microchips in children
as an anti-kidnapping device.
Solusat, the Mexican distributor
of the VeriChip --
a rice-size microchip that is injected beneath the skin and transmits a
125-kilohertz radio frequency signal -- is marketing the device as an emergency
ID under its new VeriKid program.
The service has even garnered the backing of Mexico's National Foundation
of Investigations of Robbed and Missing Children, which has agreed to
promote the service.
According to a press release announcing the collaboration, the foundation
has estimated that 133,000 Mexican children have been abducted over the past
five years.
Foundation officials did not respond to interview requests.
A Solusat executive said the terms of the agreement are still being hashed
out.
"There are distinct projects on the table, but one form of finding
(children) is by putting scanners in strategic locations where a search is being
conducted for a VeriKid that has been reported missing," said Carlos Altamirano,
Solusat's associate general director.
The company envisions placing walk-through scanners -- similar to
metal-detector portals used in airports -- in malls, bus stations and other
areas where a missing child may appear. The chip also could be used to identify
children who are found unconscious, drugged, dead or too young to identify
themselves.
Critics said kidnappers could circumvent the device easily.
"My big concern is that kidnappers will simply use 'high-tech' tools like
knives to get rid of them," said Lauren Weinstein, creator of the Privacy Forum, an online digest
related to privacy and technology issues.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center also has warned that
inserting a type of LoJack into children and workers to track their movements
could violate their civil liberties.
Solusat began selling VeriChip -- which is similar to the biochips used to
track cattle and lost pets -- in
Mexico in July; it's been sold in the United States since October 2002.
The VeriChip is injected under the skin of the upper arm or hip in an
outpatient procedure. A special scanner reads the RF signal emitted by the
microchip to obtain the device's ID number, which then is entered into a
database to access personal data about the individual. Other potential uses of
the chip, according to company officials, include scanning unconscious patients
to obtain their medical records or restricting access to high-security buildings
by scanning workers to verify their clearance.
In Mexico, the cost of the VeriChip and the doctor's fee for implantation
is about $200, in addition to a $50 annual fee to maintain the database. The
handheld scanner costs an additional $1,200, Altamirano said. The company
refused to disclose the price of the portal scanners.
VeriChip manufacturer Applied Digital
Solutions said it plans to roll out the VeriKid service in other countries,
including the United States, in the future.
Related:
VeriChip's 'VeriKid' System launched in Mexico ('For The
Children')
BUSINESS WIRE
October 01, 2003
09:20 AM US Eastern Timezone
VeriChip Corp.
Signs 5yr deal for Brazil - Mexico Sales Growing
BUSINESS WIRE
September 17, 2003 09:47
AM US Eastern Timezone
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