A dangerous idea
States should ban mandatory microchipping
News that the Indiana House of Representatives passed a bill last month that prohibits employers from microchipping workers or job candidates is likely to earn some puzzled reactions. Is this for real?
It turns out that Indiana is merely looking to get ahead of the curve, as microchipping has secured a foothold in countries like Sweden and is being experimented with here in the United States.
Microchipping involves inserting a chip about the size of a grain of rice beneath a person’s skin, usually between the thumb and forefinger. That chip can then serve a number of functions.
In Sweden, where thousands of citizens have voluntarily had chips implanted, people use the chips to access their workplaces, gyms and homes. The chips can also store emergency contact information or even e-tickets for events or public transit.
The novelty inspired Three Square Market, a Wisconsin-based firm that creates cafeteria kiosks, to offer its own microchipping program for employees. The company argued that it would simplify entry to work and computer logins. Evidently ID badges and passwords have become too much to bear.
Three Square Market launched its initiative, which is entirely voluntary, in 2017. Since that time, more than 80 employees have been implanted with chips. Those who underwent the procedure were rewarded with T-shirts that read “I Got Chipped.”
Like something out of a Phillip K. Dick novel, the dystopian overtones of microchipping are clear. Though Three Square Market claims the chips will not be used to track employees, and is quick to point out that the program is voluntary, how long until another U.S. company uses this technology to more nefarious ends? How long until a company mandates microchipping as a term of employment? Will workers have to choose between their jobs and their privacy?
Considering these existential questions, the Indiana House was wise to pass a ban before a company in the Hoosier State even considers a mandatory microchipping initiative. (Employers could still implement voluntary programs, like Three Square Market, but employees consent at their own peril.) The Indiana Senate should pass the ban as well and enter it into law, joining California, Wisconsin, Missouri, Oklahoma and North Dakota with a proactive approach to this issue.
Other states, including Pennsylvania, should follow suit. With the enormous potential for employer overreach, including the violation of civil liberties and the erosion of privacy, legislation banning mandatory microchipping should come before, not after companies consider such a shocking idea.