Mainly thanks to the fact that phones scanning QR codes being widespread. Although this practice has seen a slight revival, now replacing barcodes with QR codes instead.

Even fresh ones would be distorted whenever skin is stretched by movement. Anyone who's ever used an actual UPC scanner knows they sure aren't feasible even minor printing errors render barcodes printed on paper, plastic or metal unscannable, and tattoos tend to dissipate with age. This can be a Truth in Television: A lot of these people actually think that these tattoos look cool or badass. Most often these tattoos are on the nape of the neck, but they can be in other places, as the picture shows us. Whatever it is, barcode tattoos are appearing more and more often in fiction. Maybe they're clones, slaves, or prisoners. Maybe it's to mark them as being property of some Mega-Corp or a Nebulous Evil Organization. Simply put, the use of barcode tattoos in futuristic settings, particularly of the dystopian flavor. Attention, Kmart shoppers: we have a blue light special on badass.

Dead space life bar tattoo