TSA rolls out controversial scanners at major US airports - Travel Airport News

Airport news for Travel on 21/07/2008.

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The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) made an announcement this past week that 21 of America’s busiest airports will be receiving new, high-tech scanners that will provide near-naked images of passengers.

The new airport security scanners utilize millimeter wave technology that allows images to be generated which see through a passenger’s clothing, providing an outline of the naked body.

For several years now, passengers have been removing the jackets, baring their feet, and placing sometimes embarrassing liquids in see-through baggies. Some people are saying that the new measures violate your rights.

"It's a virtual strip search," said the director of technology and liberty at the American Civil Liberties Union, Barry Steinhardt. "If Playboy published these pictures, there would be members of Congress calling them pornography."

Within seconds of stepping inside the new imaging portal, millimeter wave technology generates a graphic 3-D image of a person’s nude contours. By doing so, it is able to show any explosives, metallic and non-metallic weapons, and other objects carried at any place on a person’s body.

TSA spokeswoman Lara Uselding noted that the new technology represents the "first huge advancement" over the metal detectors that have been in use since the 1970s. She said that these new imaging checks are being put in place to ensure the privacy of passengers.

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