Metro Future Store - Staggers Under Consumer Backlash

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Metro Future Store
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The METRO "Future Store"
Special Report

METRO Staggers Under Consumer Backlash

Retreats, Drops RFID Loyalty Card Scheme

Responding to massive consumer opposition and a tidal wave of negative press stories, METRO publicly announced that it would discontinue issuing its RFID-embedded loyalty cards and would replace any that had already been issued with RFID-free loyalty cards. This announcement came just two days before a protest involving 14 German privacy, civil liberties, and citizen groups was scheduled to take place outside of the METRO store.

Here is the letter FoeBud received from Dr. Gerd Wolfram, Project Manager for the METRO Future Store Initiative announcing the retreat. (Translated from the original German.)

To: FoeBuD e.V. Marktstr. 18 33602 Bielefeld Duesseldorf, 26.02.2004 Dear Madams and Sirs,

As you know Metro Group and its partners are testing and developing technologies at the Future Store for use in the retailing sector. Our goal is to further enhance efficiency in the process chains in this field. During your visit on January 31 2004 we gave you a comprehensive and open overview of our activities.

Among the innovations successfully tested is the so-called radio frequency identification technology. This offers considerable potential to handle process chains in the retail business far more efficiently than is possible today. Customers also profit from this technology in a number of ways. RFID, as we use it, is in accordance with data protection laws and other applicable legislation. At no time is there a linking of product data to customers' personal data taking place. There is also no intention on our part to do this in the future. Still, in order to react to reservations that have been voiced against RFID chips in customers' cards we have decided no longer to employ these chips in the Extra Future Cards. Cards that are already equipped with them and have been given out will be replaced by conventional ones during the coming weeks. With this we want, regardless of any legal assessment, to meet emotionally founded misgivings and to contribute to a objectification of the discussion of RFID. Kind regards Dr. Gerd Wolfram Project manager, METRO Group Future Store Initiative

Read CASPIAN's Press Release, "Scandal Forces METRO to Drop RFID Loyalty Card like Hot Wienerschnitzel"

It's not Over Yet: Major Problems Remain at METRO

While German protesters are relieved that METRO has dropped its secretive and invasive RFID-tagged loyalty card, there are still some major problems at the store that METRO has not addressed. FoeBud and its allies have said they will continue to put pressure on METRO until the following conditions are met:

No uncontrolled RFID implementation!
Stop item-level tagging trials immediately!
Set up and fund a forum of data, consumer, environmental, and civil rights protection protagonists,
to ensure an introduction of RFID that is compatible with democracy and acceptable to society!

More details on protesters' concerns and demands can be found at: http://www.foebud.org/texte/aktion/rfid/demo/callfordemonstration.html

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