Track this! Olympians now face implanted chips

Microchips are already being implanted in employees in Belgium and Sweden.

The head of an association of Olympic athletes wants to require anyone who participates in the Summer or Winter Games to be implanted with a tracking chip to prevent the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Mike Miller, CEO of the World Olympians Association, remarked recently at an anti-doping forum in London that athletes should accept digital implants or be barred from Olympic-level competition, according to the Guardian of London.

"Some people say it's an invasion of privacy," Miller said. "Well, sport is a club and people don't have to join the club if they don't want to, if they can't follow the rules."

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Consumer privacy expert Liz McIntyre, co-author of "Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Purchase and Watch Your Every Move," called Miller's proposal "outrageous," insisting "no human being should ever be forced to accept a tracking implant to fully participate in society."

"When someone in Miller's position has the audacity to suggest that RFID dog tracking chips are an acceptable prerequisite for participation in any endeavor, it's time for action," she said

Miller didn't specify what kind of microchip technology he was considering. McIntyre pointed out there are RFID chips with sensors that could detect the health status of a host or substances in the blood.

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"A chip/biosensor combo could theoretically monitor an athlete's blood 24/7 and report aberrations when queried by a nearby reader device – perhaps a phone with a built-in reader, for example," she said.

And chipping athletes likely would be just a first step, she warned.

"We need legislation that guarantees citizens the right to reject tracking implants without fear of losing the right to work or enjoy other pursuits," said McIntyre.

She said Miller's "outrageous recommendation made me realize that we are running out of time."

She said it's the reason she formed Citizens Against Marketing, Chipping and Tracking, or CAMCAT.

"Lawmakers need to act now to protect their constituents," she said. "CAMCAT will work to make that happen."

McIntyre is co-author with Katherine Albrecht of "Spychips." She works as a consultant for StartPage.com and StartMail.com, privacy-based services to help protect consumers against surveillance.

Miller's organization works with the 48 national Olympians associations and 100,000 living Olympians, although he said he was not speaking on behalf of the organization.

"I'm gauging reaction from people, but we do need to think of new ways to protect clean sport. I'm no Steve Jobs, but we need to spend the money and use the latest technology," he said.

WND reported earlier this year Nevada was heading toward becoming the fifth state to pass a law banning the implanting of RFID chips in people without their permission.

At least four other states – Wisconsin, Oklahoma, California and North Dakota – had previously passed laws against involuntary chipping of human beings.

McIntyre said at that time there already have been incidents in Florida in which nursing home staffs have tried to forcibly chip Alzheimer's patients, but relatives caught wind of it and stopped it.

In "Spychips," McIntyre and Albrecht included a whole chapter on the use of chips in hospitals and the health-care industry.

Joseph Farah's newest book, "The Restitution of All Things," expounds on what few authors dare to approach, the coming kingdom of God. Available at the WND Superstore.