From digital vaxports, to ribbons to NFC (Near Field Communications) implants? What could possibly go wrong.

20 December 2021 | Jon Brown | Yahoo! News

A microchip technology introduced in recent years by the Stockholm-based startup, Epicenter, is being presented as a means to store one’s COVID-19 vaccine passport under the skin, according to a video from the South China Post that went viral Friday.

The firm has showcased an implant capable of storing a COVID passport that can then be read by any device using the near-field communication (NFC) protocol, according to the video.

The video featured Hannes Sjöblad, founder of the Swedish Association of Biohackers, advisor, and speaker on Human Augmentation, and ambassador for Sweden at the Singularity Universe.

ARE YOU READY FOR A CHIP IMPLANT?

Sjöblad demonstrated how Epicenter’s rice-sized microchip, has been adapted as a COVID-19 passport, which is implanted under the skin either in the arm on between the thumb and forefinger.

Three Square Market, a Wisconsin-based technology company, became the first company in the U.S. to offer its employees similar free microchip implants in August 2017. The chip gives employees access to locked rooms and the ability to pay for food and drinks in the break room.

Implants are very versatile technology that can be used for many different things, and right now it is very convenient to have COVID passport always accessible on your implant. In case your phone runs out of battery, it’s always accessible to you. So of course, that’s how we use this technology today, next year we are going to use it for something else,” said Sjoblad.

The company does not make or sell the implants

The microchips were provided to Three Square Market (32M) at the time by Biohax, which was run by Jowan Österlund, a Swedish tattooist and body piercing specialist, according to The Guardian.

“Eventually, this technology will become standardized allowing you to use this as your passport, public transit, all purchasing opportunities, etc.,” said Todd Westby, a 32M CEO at the time.

The technology the company uses is called RFID or (Radio-Frequency Identification), which uses electromagnetic fields to identify electronically-stored information. The chips also use near-field communications (NFC), the same type of technology that is used in most contactless credit cards and mobile payments.

Westby said at the time that these microchips have already become very popular in many European countries and that the companies intended to be ahead of the curve in bringing it to the U.S. Now they could become COVID passports.