Full body scanner

A body scanner at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.

At the moment I'm researching and writing an article on the full body scanner and its use and effectiveness at airports across North America and Europe. The body scanner came to the limelight after the foiled bombing of a Detroit-bound flight. The response of dozens of airports is a sudden rush to introduce the new imaging technology as part of passenger security screening.

So far, I've done much research on the legal implications of the use of the full body scanner. There is no doubt that the scanned images of passengers are a clear infringement of privacy. Sometimes the black-and-white images even reveal clearly breasts, genitalia and very personal details about one's medical condition--such as implants, pacemakers and urinal bags. As one US-based civil rights union calls it, the body scanner is a virtual strip search.

Authorities like the US' Transport Security Administration have publicly announced that there are procedures and measures built in to minimise breaches of privacy. Even so, the Government Accountability Office, a congressional watchdog, has warned that the TSA has not undergone enough practical testing to demonstrate the effectiveness of the expensive new measures, nor undergone a full cost-benefit analysis prior to the deployment of new body scanners.

In Europe, the Netherlands and the UK were the first ones to install the machines. Whereas in the former country, the body scanner is an optional alternative to a patdown, in the UK one must go through the body scanner or prepare to leave the airport. This has caused some uproar when two Muslim woman were turned away from their flights for refusing to undergo body scanning on religious reasons. The European Parliament is still researching the privacy implications and effectiveness of the body scanner, and is soon expected to publish a report that may form the basis of a common approach to the matter within the European Union.

But I can find no legal precedence which says that the government cannot perform a search of passengers or their belongings, however intrusive the search may be. Security has always been a key public interest, and often the courts are not hesitant to defer to the importance of safeguarding security, even at the expense of the rights and interests of private citizens.

Just came across this web-site which has some (vehemently) anti-body scanner clips and posters.