Never mind microchipping your dog. Some companies are giving employees microchip implants that give them access to facilities, company accounts and vending machines with the wave of a hand.
The new technology sounds convenient and cool, but it alarms privacy rights advocates and some states have moved to ban the practice.
In March, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed House Bill 2303 into law. It prohibits employers from requiring, coercing or even requesting employees to get a microchip implanted for any reason.
“Microchips may seem like science fiction, but the technology is here,” said state Rep. Brianna Thomas, a Democrat and sponsor of the bill. “It creates an opportunity for employers to track employees during work hours and at home. That is scary.”
At least 13 additional states have banned employer-mandated human microchips, and some have imposed stricter regulations as concerns grow over technology’s increasing encroachment on privacy rights.
Nevada banned microchip programs, even for voluntary recipients, in 2019.
In addition to concerns about bosses tracking employees, the new technology could be vulnerable to hacking, which would leave microchip wearers’ personal, health and work information exposed.
Some medical studies found that the rice-sized chips can injure tissues and tendons in the human hand and have been associated with tumors in laboratory mice.
“From my point of view, there is nothing beneficial that can come from this,” Nevada Assemblyman Skip Daly, who sponsored the bill banning the practice. “We have insurance companies, credit reporting, monitoring locations, tracking transactions, and employers having access to personal information, et cetera, which some of you may see as having potentially beneficial applications, all of which are overshadowed by, in my opinion, the negative applications and potential for abuse and infringement upon our freedoms.”
States moved to set limits on microchipping in response to the Wisconsin-based software company Three Square Market, which in 2017 made headlines by offering employees the option of having a grain-sized microchip implanted under the skin, between the thumb and forefinger.
Dozens of employees signed up for the program, and according to company officials, more than 80 people got the implant. The chips opened doors, unlocked computers, made payments on proprietary self-checkout software and more.
Company officials also acknowledged facing “serious backlash from groups citing privacy and religious concerns,” and said they had “zero interest in tracking anyone,” and turned down requests to develop tracking technology.
Three Square Market was purchased by Cantaloupe in 2022. The Washington Times reached out to the Cantaloupe to see if the microchipping program is still up and running.
Since Three Square Market made a splash with its microchipping program, no major U.S. company has announced plans to offer or require employees to wear similar implants.
Two companies in Sweden offer employee microchipping, and thousands have signed up for the implants that not only unlock doors, access computers and pay for things, but also carry health data, including vaccine records.
In the U.S., biohacking technology is here to stay and advancing in new ways.
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