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Under ordinary circumstances, the effective read range of the VeriChip is on the order of several inches.

Some tags can be scanned at distances up to tens of feet. They do not contain an internal source of power, but instead receive transmission power from an interrogating reader.

2 Basic RFID tags like the VeriChip are passive. 22 Religious groups have gone so far as to claim that the VeriChip may be a realization of the Mark of the Beast as described in the New Testament. (Certain types of RFID tags also convey information about the types of items they are attached to, e.g., medications, and can thus facilitate invasive inventorying of personal items.) As a permanent and ever-present device, the VeriChip has proven a lightning rod for RFID privacy concerns, particularly since its approval for human implantation in 2002 by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Because RFID tags respond silently and automatically to interrogation by readers, they permit some degree of clandestine tracking of their bearers. The spread of RFID has provoked a backlash from privacy advocates concerned about the increasing presence of tags in the possession of consumers. As a broad technology, Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) is proliferating into many applications, including tracking of crates and pallets in industrial and military supply chains, contactless payment devices, and anti-theft systems for automobiles. At the same time, the VeriChip offers a convenient digital interface and circumvents the poor reliability of natural biometrics. The VeriChip may be viewed as a kind of вЂњprosthetic biometricвЂќ: like a finger, it cannot be misplaced. Popular forms include fingerprint and iris scanning, voice identification, and face recognition. For human beings, biometric authentication is becoming widespread as a tool for both physical and logical access control. These chips help shelters and veterinarians identify lost animals. About fifty million house pets around the world already bear implanted wireless microchips similar in form and function to the VeriChip. The VeriChip lies at the confluence of several technological trends. It has even acquired a degree of chic among certain technophiles, who are exploring applications in daily life. 21 The VeriChip has also seen limited deployment as a payment device, essentially a credit-card replacement 15,19 marketed under the product name VeriPay. 25 A few years ago, a Mexican distributor announced plans to create an anti-kidnapping system for children using the VeriChip. For example, the Attorney General of Mexico and members of his staff underwent surgical implantation of VeriChips as a measure to control access to a federal anti-crime information center. In private facilities, the VeriChip can enhance physical access control, as it permits automated identification of individuals and tracking of their movements in buildings. 24 In health care settings, the VeriChip can help identify a вЂњJane DoeвЂќ or вЂњJohn Doe,вЂќ that is, an incapacitated or disoriented patient whose identity is difficult to establish. VeriChip Corporation, the manufacturer of the device, asserts that the VeriChip вЂњcannot be lost, stolen, misplaced, or counterfeited,вЂќ and advocates a range of applications for the device.

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This serial number may be referenced in a database to identify its bearer.

When interrogated by a nearby reading device, it communicates a unique serial number over the air.

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About the size of a grain of rice, the VeriChip is surgically implanted under the skin of its bearer, typically on the back of the arm. 24 It is designed to serve as an identification device, effectively a kind of wireless barcode or dog tag for people. The VeriChip is a commercially produced, human-implantable microchip.

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