By Sofia Sanchez -Talk Radio News Service/University of New Mexico
A number of privacy experts speaking in D.C. Monday decried the use of full body imaging devices which, with Congressional support, could be implemented in airports nationwide.
“They are the great privacy issue of our day,” said Jeff Rosen, a privacy law scholar at Georgetown University during a press conference at the Electronic Privacy Information Center. "With the promise of security we are willing to give up our privacy and this, in the long run, can be dangerous."
According to Rosen, full body scanners do not just violate an individual's privacy by essentially providing security officers with a nude depiction of a person's body, but are also ineffective. Rosen cited the machine's inability to detect low density substances, such as the ones used by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian man accused of attempting to carry out an attack on Christmas day.
Security technology expert Bruce Schneier, who joined Rosen, explained that mechanisms like full body scanners have done less to thwart terrorism than one would think.
“For years I’ve been saying that exactly two things have made us safer since 9/11: reinforcing the cockpit door and convincing passengers that they need to fight back.”
Congress could pass legislation that would permit body scanners in airports only if there is a promise that no data will be able to be stored in the machines. The data would include the image of an individual's naked body which, if needed, could be accessed by a TSA employee with the right password.
Rosen argued that politicians feel the need to show the public that they are doing something to combat terrorism, but are really just making symbolic gestures.
“Is is too much to expect President Obama resist ‘feel-good’ security theater? The pressures are overwhelming. He’s got to appear to do something,” said Rosen.
The experts suggested that the U.S. should focus on investigation, intelligence and emergency response in lieu of new technologies.
Experts Decry Full Body Scanners As 'Great Privacy Issue Of Our Day’
A number of privacy experts speaking in D.C. Monday decried the use of full body imaging devices which, with Congressional support, could be implemented in airports nationwide.
“They are the great privacy issue of our day,” said Jeff Rosen, a privacy law scholar at Georgetown University during a press conference at the Electronic Privacy Information Center. "With the promise of security we are willing to give up our privacy and this, in the long run, can be dangerous."
According to Rosen, full body scanners do not just violate an individual's privacy by essentially providing security officers with a nude depiction of a person's body, but are also ineffective. Rosen cited the machine's inability to detect low density substances, such as the ones used by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian man accused of attempting to carry out an attack on Christmas day.
Security technology expert Bruce Schneier, who joined Rosen, explained that mechanisms like full body scanners have done less to thwart terrorism than one would think.
“For years I’ve been saying that exactly two things have made us safer since 9/11: reinforcing the cockpit door and convincing passengers that they need to fight back.”
Congress could pass legislation that would permit body scanners in airports only if there is a promise that no data will be able to be stored in the machines. The data would include the image of an individual's naked body which, if needed, could be accessed by a TSA employee with the right password.
Rosen argued that politicians feel the need to show the public that they are doing something to combat terrorism, but are really just making symbolic gestures.
“Is is too much to expect President Obama resist ‘feel-good’ security theater? The pressures are overwhelming. He’s got to appear to do something,” said Rosen.
The experts suggested that the U.S. should focus on investigation, intelligence and emergency response in lieu of new technologies.