Paramilitary Police State & Private Prisons

Airport Body Scanner Scandal Erupts

August 5, 2010

San Francisco Chronicle - Just as Oakland became the last of the Bay Area's three airports to install full-body scanners at security checkpoints this week, a new scandal has erupted.

The TSA has insisted all along that these machines cannot capture, store or transmit images of travelers' naked bodies.

But there's new evidence to show that the scanners can do just that.

According to a CNET report, another federal agency, the U.S. Marshall's service, admitted that it had actually stored over 30,000 images recorded by a full-body scanner used at a Florida courthouse.

A watchdog group called the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) obtained over 100 of the images and states on its web site that,

"The images, which are routinely captured by the federal agency, prove that body scanning devices store and record images of individuals stripped naked."

The group has filed a lawsuit to suspend the deployment of body scanners at airports.

EPIC also discovered that the TSA actually specified to manufacturers that the machines have the ability to send and store images. The TSA says that these functions are only for testing and training and insists on its web site that the airport body scanners are delivered to airports with storage and recording functions disabled.

The machines now in use at Bay Area airports are made by Rapiscan and do not appear to be identical to the ones used by the U.S. Marshals Service.

But still, it makes me wonder...I've been through full body scanners at least five times this year. Who knows where those images might turn up?

Another thing that the TSA insists on: use of the full-body scanners is "optional." You can decline and be subjected to a pat-down or "wanding" instead.

Next time I'm at the airport, I'll probably dutifully but uncomfortably submit to the scanner. What about you?

Full body scanners are currently in use at the International Terminal (only) at SFO. There are six in use at Terminals A and B at San Jose International. Oakland just deployed one in Terminal 1 and will get a second in Terminal 2 next month.

Below is a two-minute video I made when the TSA invited me down to San Jose when the new scanners were installed there earlier this year.