Labor / Employment, On The Job, Technology

Why You Don't Need to Worry About Microchip Implants

The employee microchip has too much risk and very little reward, according to tech columnist Jeff Bennion.

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The Three Square Market implants get injected between the thumb and index finger.

Today, employees of a Wisconsin tech company, Three Square Market, can elect to get microchips implanted into their skin. After the stories ran last week, Facebook was full of posts referencing the Book of Revelations scripture about the “mark of the beast,” plus conspiracy theories. The microchip will allow people to do things like log onto their computers faster and buy things at the cafeteria without a wallet.

We’ve seen tremendous breakthroughs in technology getting smaller and more convenient in the last decade.  Ten years ago, we did not have smartphones, and my guess is that within ten years from now, smartphones will be obsolete — but are microchip implants the future? Here’s why the answer is no.

Class Action Lawyers

What keeps as-seen-on-tv companies honest? Class action lawyers. What keeps companies like Volvo from defrauding the public? Class action lawyers. What keeps mesothelioma out of our lungs (and late-night commercial slots filled)? Class action lawyers.

Who would you trust to manufacture the implant? You’d want a large company with deep pockets, like a Fortune 500 company, Johnson & Johnson maybe. Johnson & Johnson marketed the DePuy metal hip implants. As it turned out, the metal sockets left debris when the ball of the hip rubbed against the socket, and the debris would get into the blood stream. In 2010, the hip implants were recalled, and class action lawyers began chasing Johnson & Johnson for billions of dollars for the tens of thousands of lives ruined.

Likewise, 10 years ago, no one cared about BPA. It was approved by the FDA. The idea that there were chemicals in our water bottles and plastic bowls that affected our hormone balance was crazy. But then the reports came in about its effect on humans, and the class action lawyers came and began to punish the corporations that were poisoning most of the babies in America.

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So, if an employer says, “Don’t worry, it’s backed by one of the largest companies in the world,” or “The FDA has approved it,” know that that does not mean it’s safe. Even if you don’t know that, the corporations that manufacture non-medically-necessary metal things that emit electronic signals in your body do know that. Because each microchip would be small and simple, it’s probably going to be inexpensive, which means not very profitable, which means not a very big upside, but huge downside if it goes wrong.

It’s Pointless

I log into my computer with my fingerprint with Windows Hello. Sometimes, I use the facial recognition software too. I can log on instantaneously. As of today, I could get the option of using a microchip to log in by waving my hand over my computer instead of placing my finger on it. What if you don’t need to wave your finger over it? What if it’s got a certain range, like how Bluetooth headphones can pair to my phone from 30 feet away? That’s even more of a security nightmare. Let’s say someone sits within 30 feet of the water cooler. That person gets up to get a drink of water and talk about all of the interesting things that have happened in the previous 15 minutes in politics with other people at the water cooler. Now, that person is not at his or her desk, but the chip unlocks the computer.

Why not just use some kind of badge, or even a wearable, like an Apple Watch app or something? What happens when an employee quits? Now, you have to schedule invasive surgery on an ex-employee to remove the microchip. You would have to do the same every time the chip became obsolete or needed an upgrade.

This is all to save a few seconds to log in or offer the convenience of paying at the cafeteria without a wallet (or your phone if you have Apple Pay). For the cost it would take to implement in each employee, the employer could buy everyone in the company a sandwich every day.

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Conclusion

In short, the employee microchip has too much risk and very little reward. Although phones will probably be replaced by some kind of wearable or augmented reality device, that year is not 2017, and that device is not the microchip.

Jeff Bennion is a solo practitioner at the Law Office of Jeff Bennion. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of San Diego’s plaintiffs’ trial lawyers association, Consumer Attorneys of San Diego. He is also the Education Chair and Executive Committee member of the State Bar of California’s Law Practice Management and Technology section. He is a member of the Advisory Council and instructor at UCSD’s Litigation Technology Management program. His opinions are his own. Follow him on Twitter here or on Facebook here, or contact him by email at jeff@trial.technology.

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