New TSA Scanner Software Said To Eliminate Nude Image
New software for the TSA’s airport body scanners is on the way. The images produced will be far less revealing than the previous images that showed all your’s and your children’s bits. The TSA is hoping this will reduce privacy concerns and fears of the public. This announcement comes on the heels of the court ruling that stated that implementation of the intrusive scanners were improper but at the same time that they could remain in use.
TSA spokesman Jim Fotenos said Thursday the agency doesn’t have an airport-by-airport schedule on when the software will be in place. But he said all 41 airports with millimeter wave scanners will be updated within a couple months.
The new scanners use a generic outline and only highlight what may be suspicious instead of showing your naked behind to the viewer examining the image for contraband.
The new software still doesn’t address the equally scary concern of the radiation exposure from going through the x-ray machines. They can say the levels are no higher than those of an x-ray taken at the doctor’s office but that doesn’t mean anything when those levels are toxic as well.
Still it is a small victory for those that don’t want their nude images to be stored in a database somewhere with the government or leaked to the internet even though it was promised that such images were never saved. Although it’s not clear if the scanner still takes the same image but just shows a mask outline to the viewer. So it’s possible your scanned crotch is still in a mysql file somewhere.
At least you still have the option for a pat down.
Additional:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/20/us-usa-security-aviation-idUSTRE76J65C20110720
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/07/cleveland_hopkins_could_get_ne.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-15/airport-body-scanners-were-improperly-adopted-by-u-s-appeals-court-rules.html
Jaylon Carter is a blogger, social media marketing consultant, former Congressional Campaign Media & Communications Director, national labor union vice block leader, and a Hip Hop artist who performs under the stage name Timid (@timidmc).
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