air travel privacy Airport security backscatter body scanners EPIC v. DHS privacy
EPIC Urges Court to End DHS Delay in Seeking Public Input on Airport Body Scanners
EPIC has asked a federal court seeking to enforce a July 15, 2011 order requiring the Department of Homeland Security to take public comment on the agency's controversial airport body scanner program. As a result of an EPIC lawsuit, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the agency violated federal law when it installed body scanners in airports for primary screening without first soliciting public input. In July, the Court ordered Homeland Security to "promptly" seek public comment, but the agency has failed to respond. EPIC, and a coalition of privacy and civil liberties organizations, first petitioned DHS to undertake a public rulemaking in 2009. This is EPIC's second motion to compel the agency to comply with the court's order. For more information, see EPIC: EPIC v. DHS and EPIC: Whole Body Imaging Technology.