An eclectic alliance of more than 40 organizations — from the Nation Rifle Association and Eagle Forum to the Transgender Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union — wants regulations that guarantee privacy rights and assure that travelers are informed about how the machines work.TSA officials insist safeguards are already in place. The officer operating the machine never sees the image, which pops up on a computer screen behind a locked door. The officer who examines the image never sees the subject.
Faces are blurred out, and the picture looks like a fuzzy X-ray. Machines can’t store images, which are deleted once the examiner clears them, the TSA says. Passengers who object can choose a hands-on pat-down from an officer. More than 99 percent pick the scan, the agency says.
Security Debrief is a blog dedicated to homeland security, terrorism and counter-terrorism, intelligence and law enforcement that provides context to the debates, policies and politics that are playing out in Washington, D.C.
