Applied Digital said it intends to work with the Department of Homeland Security to develop a program that will use RFID Technology to keep tabs on immigrants after they enter the country. CEO Scott Silverman made headlines last week when he suggested to an interviewer on Fox News that the VeriChip, an RFID microchip his company makes, could be surgically implanted in guest workers and other temporary visitors to the U.S. as a means of identification. The company is now taking pains to reassure critics that the technology could not be used to track immigrants, noting that the VeriChip has no GPS function--or any other monitoring capability for that matter. "It's really no different than a tamper-proof passport you can carry all the time." Silverman said. About 100 hospitals around the country now use the chip, but adoption has been slowed by privacy concerns.
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