Forced Microchip Implants Could Be a Future Reality

Bill Banning Forced Identity-Chip Implants Clears House

July 2, 2009

Philadelphia Inquirer - Invasion of privacy is an issue that really gets under State Rep. Babette Josephs' skin. That's why the Philadelphia Democrat introduced a bill, passed unanimously last week by the House, that would ban the forced implantation of computer chips in humans.

Conjuring Orwellian images, Josephs worries the identification devices - the size of a grain of rice - could lead to a real-life Big Brother nightmare.

"I'm doing, I think, what the legislature does too little of," she said. "This is a problem on the horizon, and I want to address it before it becomes a societal disgrace."

Though the technology hasn't debuted in Pennsylvania, VeriChip, a company in Florida, received federal Food and Drug Administration clearance in 2004 to market the implanted microchips, which were tested on 200 Alzheimer's patients.

Injected into the triceps, the chips have unique 16-digit codes and GPS capabilities that allow nursing homes to find wandering patients.

"I think it's really horrible that we want to chip them like barcoded packages of meat," said Kim Sultzbaugh, a research specialist who helped Josephs write the bill. California, North Dakota, and Wisconsin have enacted laws similar to the ban Josephs is proposing.

The technology can also be used for security, as in a widely reported case in Mexico. There, the implants were required for some government employees to enter restricted buildings.

A bar in Scotland even offers to implant patrons with chips that allow them to purchase pints without a credit card, according to news accounts.

Despite the technology's potential usefulness, Sultzbaugh said, some Christian groups liken the identification devices to the "mark of the beast," a Satanic mark described in the Book of Revelation and represented by the number 666.

Josephs said electronic ankle bracelets could keep track of someone in a less-invasive manner.

But for some "murderers, killers, and rapists," ankle bracelets won't do the trick, said State Rep. Dan Moul (R., Adams). Moul amended Josephs' bill to allow chips to be implanted by court order. The bill also would allow the chips to be implanted in Guantanamo Bay detainees who end up in Pennsylvania.

"Terrorists could take that ankle bracelet off with a saw and strap it to a dog and let them run around," Moul said. "We need to know if these people are returning to the war to fight against America."

Josephs called Moul's changes "inflammatory" and "sensational" and hopes the Senate throws them out when it considers the measure.

Erik Arneson, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R., Delaware), said the bill was not scheduled for immediate action.

Microchip Implant: 'Mark of the Beast'

June 30, 2009

... The subject of implantable microchips has vehemently left the realm of paranoia and is now a major concern as governments around the world prepare to roll out national ID cards, which many fear could be replaced by mandatory implantable chips in the not too distant future.

Media interest surrounding the issue spiked in 2002 when the Jacobs family of Boca Raton, Florida, were all implanted with a Verichip containing their personal information for health and security reasons, as well as because the son Derek fantasized “about merging humans and machines.” NBC News’ Today Show even broadcast live footage of the family being surgically implanted with their chips.

In 2004, MSNBC reported that the Mexican attorney general and his staff of 160 people had “been implanted with microchips which give them access to secure areas of their headquarters.”
In August 2007, the Department of Defense announced that they were pursuing a “brain-implantable 'biochip' that will measure/relay a soldier’s vitals on the battlefield,” a project said to be five years from completion.

As we have previously highlighted, the promotion of microchips not just from a safety or military aspect, but in the context of popular culture, is starting to gain serious momentum.

The most recent example comes from Yahoo Tech, which this week rehashed a five-year old story about an implantable microchip being required to access the VIP area of a cool nightclub in Barcelona, as well as being used in place of a credit card to pay for drinks.

The story emphasizes how taking the chip is used to “free customers of the burdens of having to carry their purses or wallets” and “makes sense.”

Columnist Admits VeriChip Often Implanted in Wrist

February 23, 2009

Chris Perver (Prophecy in the News) - Experts are predicting that within 25 years time, a technological revolution will take place in the way payment transactions are made...

"In 25 years, your cell phone might be your credit card. You will likely be able to sample everything from clothing or furnishings at home by projecting them in 3-D holograms."

I thought this article was extremely interesting. Not because of the prediction that cash will become a thing of the past, nor particularly the idea of a microchip implant being used as a payment device. All of this we have dealt with before. But what struck me was the location in the body the chip is being implanted. I have read many news articles on the VeriChip implant. In most articles VeriChip Corporation seem pained to stress that the implant location for their chip is in the upper right arm.

"The recommended location of the microchip is in the triceps area between the elbow and the shoulder of the right arm."

Why they do that, I don't know. Perhaps they are keen to avoid any possible connotations with the Mark of the Beast, which the Bible describes as being given in the right hand or forehead (Revelation 13). I have only ever seen one news article that mentioned the VeriChip as being implanted in the "right hand or forehead". Unfortunately that article has since disappeared from the internet, although I have the particular paragraph quoted it in my Mark article, and you can read an archived copy of the original article here. Likewise, this current article does not follow the norms, in reporting that the Baja Beach Club can implant the VeriChip in your wrist...

"Fifty years from now, a programmable payment bead implanted in your body could supplant your mobile device for payment purposes. The Baja Beach Club in Barcelona, Spain, already injects a rice-size VeriChip RFID device into the wrist or upper arm of its jet-set guests to make paying as simple as waving your hand."

Compare that with the description of the Mark of the Beast given to John by the Holy Spirit over 1900 years ago...

And he (the False Prophet) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16-17)

Clearly someone at VeriChip Corporation is not being honest about how their chips are being implanted. But as my friend Cliff says, thank God that the Holy Spirit 'spilled the beans' on this whole project over 2000 years ago. We have a Man on the inside Who knows exactly what is going on. And not only does He know what is going on and has warned us about it in advance, but He has devised a master plan to bring about the downfall of the whole system. That's why the Scriptures warn us not to accept the Mark of the Beast, nor to worship the image that will be set up...

Humans 'Will Be Implanted with Microchips'

January 30, 2009

NineMSN - All Australians could be implanted with microchips for tracking and identification within the next two or three generations, a prominent academic says.

Michael G Michael from the University of Wollongong's School of Information Systems and Technology, has coined the term "uberveillance" to describe the emerging trend of all-encompassing surveillance.

"Uberveillance is not on the outside looking down, but on the inside looking out through a microchip that is embedded in our bodies," Dr Michael told ninemsn.

Microchips are commonly implanted into animals to reveal identification details when scanned and similar devices have been used with Alzheimers patients.

US company VeriChip is already using implantable microchips, which store a 16-digit unique identification number, on humans for medical purposes.

"Our focus is on high-risk patients, and our product's ability to identify them and their medical records in an emergency," spokesperson Allison Tomek said.

"We do not know when or if someone will develop an implantable microchip with GPS technology, but it is not an application we are pursuing."

Another form of uberveillance is the use of bracelets worn by dangerous prisoners which use global positioning systems to pinpoint their movements.

But Dr Michael said the technology behind uberveillance would eventually lead to a black box small enough to fit on a tiny microchip and implanted in our bodies.

This could also allow someone to be located in an emergency or for the identification of corpses after a large scale disaster or terrorist attack.

"This black box will then be a witness to our actual movements, words — perhaps even our thoughts —-and play a similar role to the black box placed in an aircraft," he said.

He also predicted that microchip implants and their infrastructure could eliminate the need for e-passports, e-tags, and secure ID cards.

"Microchipping I think will eventually become compulsory in the context of identification within the frame of national security," he said.

Although uberveillance was only in its early phases, Dr Michael's wife, Katina Michael — a senior lecturer from UOW's School of Information Systems and Technology — said the ability to track and identify any individual was already possible.

"Anyone with a mobile phone can be tracked to 15m now," she said, pointing out that most mobile phone handsets now contained GPS receivers and radio frequency identification (RFID) readers.

"The worst scenario is the absolute loss of human rights," she said.

Wisconsin, North Dakota and four other states in the US have already outlawed the use of enforced microchipping.

"Australia hasn't got specific regulations addressing these applications," she said.

"We need to address the potential for misuse by amending privacy laws to ensure personal data protection."

Uberveillance has been nominated for Macquarie Dictionary's Word of the Year 2008.

Uberveillance - A New Term Coined for the Verichip

Microsoft Wants to Get Under Your Skin

December 4, 2008

The Register - Microsoft's HealthVault, the medical records database, is to be integrated with VeriMed's human-embedded RFID tags, allowing doctors to access the medical records of unconscious patients with a quick scan of the arm.

VeriMed consists of an RFID tag that is embedded in the arm of a hopefully willing participant, and responds with a 16-digital identity code when queried at 134KHz. This code can then be used to identify the person through VeriChip's website, and will soon be able to link to their medical records as stored on Microsoft's HealthVault system.

"VeriMed adds an exciting RFID-based option for HealthVault users trying to keep themselves and their families safe," says Sean Nolan, the chief architect for HealthVault, quoted in RFID Journal.

If you're excited about the idea of being electronically indexed then this is probably the technology for you.

Not that the future of VeriMed is in any way certain, despite the Microsoft link. The company's parent, VeriChip, has already tried to sell off the human-implanting part of the business as punters prove remarkably reluctant to be serial-numbered. Should the business fail entirely, a connection to HealthVault could be the best hope for the poor souls who've already succumbed to having chips embedded in their arms.

VeriChip Selected to Offer Personal Health Record through Microsoft HealthVault

November 28, 2008

MarketWatch - VeriChip Corporation, a provider of radio frequency identification (RFID) systems for healthcare and patient-related needs, today announced that its personal health record used in conjunction with its VeriMed Health Link system will be accessible through Microsoft(R) HealthVault(TM), an online platform designed to put consumers in control of their health information. Through this agreement, Health Link members will have the ability to open free HealthVault accounts and input, store, view and interact with their health data. Further, the data within Health Link members' existing accounts will be directly accessible through their HealthVault accounts.

Scott R. Silverman, Chairman of the Company, said:

"VeriChip's strategic alliance with Microsoft provides additional benefits to our members by enabling them to seamlessly store all of their personal health records on HealthVault's robust, security-enhanced website. Furthermore, as an approved HeathVault solution provider, this agreement gives us added visibility among HealthVault's member base. For those who have chosen our tamper-proof, safe, 'always on' link to their personal health information, we believe this relationship with Microsoft is a logical expansion of our service."