The TSA Is Reworking Its New Body Scanners Because They Were Too Revealing
A new full-body airport security scanner is being revamped after Transporation Security Administration (TSA) officials deemed that the machine was capable of seeing a bit too much.
According to Quartz, a new TSA full-body scanner was sent back to its manufacturer because its “privacy filters” are lacking. Basically, the machines are capable of a visual strip search that exposes all body parts — with no filter for what might be considered private.
The machine was in its “demonstration planning phase” when the TSA’s Chief Counsel noted that the machine had “privacy risks,” according to documents obtained by Quartz. The machine has gone back to the manufacturer who is working on “enhanced privacy software” to fix the issue and keep the TSA in compliance with federal regulations.
The document does not further detail the status of the body scanners. The TSA did not immediately respond to Travel + Leisure’s request for comment.
The scanners are a part of the TSA’s push to create “Better screening, Faster,” which the administration refers to as FLEx (for Future Line Experience).
This is not the first time that a passenger’s revealed nudity has been at the center of TSA privacy issues. In 2010, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) spoke out against the TSA using full-body scanners, calling the technology an invasion of privacy.
In its official stance on the issue, the ACLU says, “It produces strikingly graphic images of passengers’ bodies, essentially taking a naked picture of air passengers as they pass through security checkpoints. It is a virtual strip search that reveals not only our private body parts, but also intimate medical details like colostomy bags.”
source : https://www.travelandleisure.com/airlines-airports/tsa-full-body-scanner-privacy-risks