air travel privacy Airport security backscatter body scanners privacy TSA

American Travelers to TSA: Body Scanners are Unsafe and Unacceptable

EPIC has uncovered more complaints from travelers about the TSA airport body scanners. In response to a FOIA request, the federal agency turned over 241 pages of passenger complaints about body scanners to EPIC. The documents reveal that travelers are angry and frustrated about TSA screening procedures. Travelers expressed concern about radiation risks to children, the elderly, and those with special needs. Other travelers wrote the fact that the machines could capture naked images as unacceptable. One traveler said, "using [the full body scanners] is an extreme invasion of privacy." EPIC previously obtained hundreds of pages of complaints (sample) after filing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Agency. Earlier this year, in EPIC v. DHS, EPIC also obtained a judgment from the federal appeals court in Washington, requiring the TSA to conduct a public rulemaking on the program and ensuring that passengers have a right to opt-out. For more information see EPIC: Whole Body Imaging Technology.

October 20, 2011| Share: