From the BBC:
A month after the bodies of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman were found in a remote ditch, a cybernetics professor known for his headline-grabbing stunts came up with a plan to microchip children to prevent them being abducted.

Professor Kevin Warwick, of Reading University, convinced the Duval family that a microchip implanted in their 11-year-old daughter Danielle's arm would ease their fears.

The youngster was nervous about going out alone, following media coverage of the Soham case.

If she went missing with a chip installed, it would send a signal via mobile phone networks to a computer, which would pinpoint her location on an electronic map.

But 15 months on, Danielle remains unchipped. "We never heard nothing more about it," Mrs Duval told BBC News Online. "Danielle is still nervous about going out alone. If she does go out, myself or my husband goes with her. She always carries her mobile around now."

Professor Warwick says the backlash against the scheme - numerous children's charities came out against the plan - forced him to reconsider. "I was perceived to be an ogre trying to do nasty things to children. The opposition to it made me think that ethically, this is something not deemed to be appropriate."

Research by nVision, the online database of the think tank Future Foundation, found that 75% of British parents would buy a device to trace their child's movements.

Chris McDermott, of the anti-RFID group No Tags, says chip implants would be of little use in tracking a missing child as readers only have a limited range.

"What parents like the Duvals want is an implant which can be traced by satellite - but that's a long way off. Let's face it, all such a chip would do in cases like Soham is allow the police to trace the bodies more quickly. No technology would have saved those girls."

Michele Elliott, the director of Kidscape, dismisses hi-tech tracking gadgets as "ridiculous gimmicks". Not only would such devices make children fear they are at a greater risk of abduction than they really are, says Ms Elliott, the children wearing them may become complacent if they think technology - which can fail - will take care of their personal safety.

Then there are concerns about the long-term health effects of such devices, especially microchips transmitting signals from inside young bodies.

Instead, parents should teach practical strategies that will keep their children safe for life. The charity provides downloadable leaflets with advice such as arranging meeting places in case you get separated, and having a codeword so that if someone else has to collect your child, they can signal it is safe to go with them.

...For all the fear about strangers who may pose a danger, just a fraction of the children murdered each year die at the hands of an unknown assailant.

Kidnaps and murders by strangers are no more common than 20 years ago, according to Home Office figures which show there are, on average, six such deaths a year.

Full Article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3307471.stm

Suikio

Well, first I fail to see how this is in any way related to RIAA or others doing RIAA-like actions... But there will always be crackpot schemes thought up that will appear like cataloging humans, etc. You just can't get paranoid over them all because, like this case, NOTHING BECAME OF IT. If you live your life being paranoid all the time, it's really not worth living anyways; that's just my view. Just be happy and pick your battles wisely.

People who give up a measure of liberty for safety deserve neither.

Dakota, a number of articles have been posted about microchips and RFID chips on this site. Nothing became of it? In one case perhaps. But there are many others who want this technology, not just in the UK, but in the US and Japan.

One company in the United States is offering a program to implant
RFID chips into individuals arm. The RFID chip would act like credit card of sorts, b/c carrying around a little card and keeping track of it is apparently too much for our modern society.

As code detailed in his four part story about Trusting Computers and the Internet, we're moving towards such a platform where computers will have ID numbers, so that you will have to access it through that ID card, and every program will have an Certificate number, so that any one without will not function.

And yes, I am paranoid. The RIAA and labels would love something like this. Anonymity is a major restraint in their battle against file sharers. If they just could figure it out via computer ID, or the ID implanted in your skin, then they wouldn't have to file their former subpoena's to ISP's for your information.

Not every article directly relates with the RIAA, but they all have some educational value.

Suikio

Lets say I'm five and my parents get this thingy for me. Eventually I grow up right?

If my parents stuck one of these in my arm against my will, and I learned about it later...Id be sooooo pissed off.

I don't see what the problem is.

The chip is just for children right? So when you become an adult and are out on your own, whats to stop you from having it removed? Once you're an adult you don't need to be tracked anymore.

I find it an issue of human dignity; agreed dakota81, and code.

Chip that, !

I agree with CodeWarrior and dakota81. It is an issue with human dignity. Things like this are just another step closer to "Big Brother" watching us all!!!!!!!

You want to protect your children and yourself? Forget implants. Forget chips. Forget satellite tracking devices.

Get a gun. simple, effective, doesn't need batteries, works like charm. Proven technology.

Get a gun, and learn how to use it.

A mistake some have made, join your local shooting range.

I find the Coke 2 ltr. bottles filled with water explode nicely.

The big deal is that they are stuffing tacking systems into your body. Social Security numbers were bad enough now we are getting into the next generation of social indexing. Would you brand your children? No? Why would you want to stick a chip in them. If you distrust your kids to the point of implanting electronic tracking devices in their body I'm sorry but your not a good parent. Kids are imposible to control. Thats why your not supposed to try.

people were not receptive at all about the government taking away their rights until 9/11 then the public was willing to accpept the patriot act.

People will not be receptive as a whole to tagging children or themselves untill there is another tragety of sorts that the government says can be avoided by tagging people. then you'll see a mad rush to have it done

"People who give up a measure of liberty for safety deserve neither."

Never before has someone said what I've thought so eloqeuntly. This is especially true in our government, with the Patriot Act etc.

oh yah, quote from Code

It's like the Lojack case, the police would never use a tracking system designed to help you to in turn watch your every move if you were a suspect would they?

at what age are these chips going to be removed? are they removeable? can they be used by others to track you against your will? Paranoid? - Perhaps, but you can't trust anyone anymore with personal info. even law enforcement.

Not to mention that something to the effect of tracking devices was mentioned in the Book of Revelations. The Mark of the Beast, my friends. That's what these chips are. Especially the ones that store financial information. Once the government required them to make purchases of any kind, then it would be just as in Revelations: those without them wouldn't be able to buy anything.

NiceGuy, please do not bring your Christian beliefs to Boycott-riaa.com, practice what you will, but this is a forum/news website that does not need paranoid christian beliefs.

"People who give up a measure of liberty for safety deserve neither."

I keep trying to say this in different words.

Code is paraphrasing Benjamin Franklin who said:

"They that can give up essential liberty
to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

I swear I have never seen a board with members so ignorant and stupid. I am speaking generally and my statement does not apply to those of you who actually have a brain. : )

Seriously, why do you find it necessary to be such an aggravating ass?

You have the right to state your opinions just as everyone else here does, hoewever it isn't necessary to be a smug little assshole and take shots at the other members.

I hope I'll never be in a situation where I wished I HAD implanted my child in order to track her down and rescue her from a kidnapper.

"Let's face it, all such a chip would do in cases like Soham is allow the police to trace the bodies more quickly. No technology would have saved those girls."

Damn, how tragic.

You know I am getting a little tired of people on this board coming down on Christians. We have a voice too and have a right to be heard as well. We bring another aspect to the actions that are going on in the world. Trust me we are not Paranoid, just telling the truth whether you want to believe or not. If we are not allowed to express our viewpoints then maybe we should not be apart of this boycott at all.

I'm not coming down on christians... I just feel there is no need for religious views on this website.

I'm an athiest with a profound respect for people's religious beliefs and I have to say, the first thing that popped into my mind when I read this piece, was that it reminded me of the mark of the beast thingy. Of course, I don't believe it for a second, but things these days are looking awfully biblical (for the lack of a better word). The conflict in the middle east, our current administration's lust for empire, etc. Whether God plays into it or not, I'll say that there's a self-fufilling prophecy going on, like it or not, we may create our own armageddeon without the benefit of rapture to look forward too. To me, knowing that death is the end, makes me want to improve things here on our little round ball in space, after all, it's all we have, we can't be lazy and assume that God's club med awaits us after the grave.

Every second counts. Microchips bad.

I think we should talk about the pilosophy of any religion. I can talk about the mark of the beast without attending church. I suggest y'all do as well. I'm usually the first person to tell the christians to leave the table. There are many things I hate about their religion. There are also things I like, but not many. However, in this case I must say a little philosophy from the past would be very relevent. These people sat around all day dreaming up ideas, theories and what not, there is a lot of merit to them. Sometimes it takes an outside view to understand what is going on and if we draw parrelels between what is happening and what was theorized oh so long ago we have managed to peer into a point of view that is not tainted by the current society. That is something one could not do without visiting a monk in tibet.... In other words we should not dismiss the writings of the past simply because they were orientated towards a certain set of beliefs. No matter what those beliefs are the philosopher has insight to offer that simply can not be achieved in any other way. It may very well be blaintently apparent what will happen if people are branded, but it might not be if you are living in the current time... We must not forget our past lest we will be doomed to repeat it.

Well put Code. We are losing freedom little by little. A microchip inserted in children "for their safety"? How long before it becomes for adult "safety" or to supposedly prevent theft and fraud? Sounds to me like an easy way down the road of "deception". It would be so easy to say it is for the benefit of all and to also deceive us all at the same time. Do we really want to trust our lives to something like this?

Ah yes, Warwick. The psudo-scientist. His 'research' is ridiculed by everyone in the field, and many outside. This is the person who put a small transmitter in his arm and called himself a cyborg. Got him some attention in the media, but no scientific or technological progress was made. Weve put more advanced hardware in pets.

Now, the phone-home chip I remember reading about. Any tech experts here will realise the problem with the implanted mobile idea. Battery life. Thats a GPS reciever to keep running, and enough power to keep a mobile phone running available on demand. That would take a battery. Not a large one, but implant batteries are larger than conventionals because of the various layers of protective cover needed. Warwick was unable to solve that, or the problems of fitting the GPS equipment in. At one stage he thought he had it solved with an external unit which only required the passive presence of a chip to operate, but even the tabloids didn't buy that one. The only use for a chip would be identifying the bodies. I suppose if you made it really powerful you could use it to build a five-meter range body finder to speed up the search, but thats the limit.

Last I heard warwick was working on a nuromotor interface (read 'probes stuck in muscles') chip which has an estimated 0% chance of achieveing the results he claims to expect (ie dexterity and strength that makes the Six Million Dollar Man look like a toddler), and a chip which would, by some unexplained means, give him constant telepathic contact with his wife (who is apparently increasingly reluctant).

NiceGuy2003: Well spotted, through your not the first. Robert Rankin fan?

Nothing wrong with chip implants. Could make great security. A 128-bit GUID challenge-response chip would make an unbeatable security system. Just gave your hand over the scanner and if your public key is on its list the door opens. Its what the chips used for that raises issues.

There was something on TV once, a sci-fi program. Cant remember the details, I only saw the end. Hacker needed the manager for a corporation to authorise the computers self-destruct system with his chip, so he put together a graphic of the "cancel" screen on one computer, loaded the self-destruct program on the one behind it, turned off that monitor and swaped the scanners over Computers are deterministic, its always the human factor that messes up.

We have a story about the tragic loss of two children, and another young girl too frightened to go out because of it.

Then some pencil necked geek decides to capitalize on this tragedy.

This is a non-story and shame on Warwick for his insensitivity.