Large retail chain spies on shoppers using chips

A REPORT CLAIMED large UK retail chain Tesco is using radio technology to snoop on its customers.

According to today's Grauniad, anyone who picks up Gillette Mach 3 razor blades has her or his pic taken, not only in the shopping aisles, but yet again on checkout.

Semiconductor tech in the razor blade packaging electronically causes closed circuit TVs to zoom in on the shopper.

Tesco claims that the devices are not an intrusion into personal liberty or a way to catch shoplifters, but rather a method of tracking the "supply chain".

Earlier this year we reported that Philips had teamed up with Benetton to produce radio tags on clothes.

The technology, in theory, would not only allow the tags to be used in shops, but could travel with the users for the lifetime of garments.

Radio tags in underwear? Well, we'd put nothing past these retail wallahs. µ

L'INQ
Grauniad featurette