– Opt Out of a Body Scan? Then Brace Yourself (New York Times):
The T.S.A.’s position is that anyone can “opt out” of a body scan for reasons of privacy or whatever, but will then be subjected to a thorough physical pat-down and careful search of belongings.
In my case, I had been routinely using a normal metal detector checkpoint, when I was ordered to switch lanes and instead go to one of the new machines. I said I would prefer not to, given that my carry-on bag, laptop and shoes were already trundling along the regular machine’s conveyor belt, out of sight. That’s when the shouting started.
As of Monday afternoon, the agency had not responded to several requests for comment on this. Last week, the agency did tell me that there were 317 of the advanced imaging technology machines now in use at 65 airports around the country.
About 500 should be online by the end of the year, the agency said, and another 500 are expected to be installed next year. Ultimately, the agency plans to have the new machines replace metal detectors at all of the roughly 2,000 airport checkpoints.
See also:
– Pilot to TSA: ‘No Groping Me and No Naked Photos’
– The Full Body Scanner Invasion; New Scanners Break Child Porn Laws
– US prisoners forced to submit to radiation experiments for private foreign companies
– Full-Body Scanners Emitting ‘High-Energy’ Radiation Increase Cancer Risk
– TSA lies exposed: Full-body scanners do save and transmit images, secret documents reveal
– Israeli Airport Security Expert: Full-Body Scanners Are Waste of Money