A SECOND state in US has passed laws specifically banning the use of radio frequency ID (RFID) implanted in humans, such is the concern that if it’s not outlawed, someone might actually propose doing.

North Dakota Governor John Hoeven last week signed into law a two sentence bill that effectively forbids anyone from compelling someone else to have an RFID chip implanted under the skin. Wisconsin passed a similar law in 22006. California currently has a bill before its state house that would outlaw the practice. The issue hasn’t gained much profile in Australia. The law in North Dakota does not prohibit people getting a chip implant voluntarily. There remain applications like in the military, where soldiers can get chipped so they can be more easily tracked – and possibly so emergency medical records can be stored in-body. The law has already attracted critics as not going far enough. Reports from the US say the law is took vague and could easily side-stepped. For example, some say the law only addresses RFID being injected under the skin, even though RFID tags can be attached in a variety of ways including swallowing. The law doesn’t define what constitutes a person being forced to have an implant, critics say. For example, would it be considered force if a person was denied access to a government service if they didn’t get an implant? Or if they were given financial inducements.