Backscatter Technology Reveals More Than Just Weapons
May 24, 2005
The New York Times (via News.com) reports that Homeland
Security has plans to test backscatter technology at dozens
of airports nationwide -- Homeland Security won't say which
airports will do the testing. The technology has a major side
effect -- it reveals much more than just the weapons a terrorist
might be carrying:
Get ready for electronic portals known as backscatters, expected to be tested at a handful of airports this year, that use X-ray imaging technology to allow a screener to scan a body. And yes, the body image is detailed. Let's not be coy here, ladies and gentlemen:
"Well, you'll see basically everything," said Bill Scannell, a privacy advocate and technology consultant. "It shows nipples. It shows the clear outline of genitals."
Steve Elson, a former former Federal Aviation Administration investigator, told the Times that the new technology has significant privacy
costs:
"Backscatting has been around for years," he said. "They started talking
about this stuff back during the protests when they were grabbing women.
Under the right circumstances, the technology has some efficacy and can
work. That is, provided we're willing to pay the price in a further loss
of personal privacy."
He isn't. "I have a beautiful 29-year-old daughter and a beautiful wife,
and I don't want some screeners to be looking at them through their
clothes, plain and simple," he said.
