Like the earlier session, this workshop is slated to include industry representatives, government officials, and consumer advocates from Europe and the United States, who will discuss security and privacy concerns associated with the different types of new payments technology. It’s open and free to the public and will be held at FTC’s Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC. It will also be telecast on the Web.

It is being held in conjunction with the September “Transatlantic Symposium on the Societal Benefits of RFID,” sponsored by the Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue, the European-American Business Council, and EPCGlobal, with the support of the U.S. Department of Commerce and the European Commission.

Workshop participants will discuss the increasing prevalence of contactless payment devices in everyday consumer transactions, including credit card purchases and public transit, as well as the growing use of item-level tagging in the retail sector. The workshop will examine consumer awareness and education initiatives regarding these developments; security and privacy threats and proposed solutions; and emerging technologies and practices that may shape the marketplace in the coming years.

Following the FTC workshop, the U.S. Department of Commerce, in cooperation with the European Commission, will host a “matchmaking” event for U.S. and European companies, at which new transatlantic RFID partnerships and technical exchanges will be explored.