Interesting – TSA Pulls Use Of Controversial Full Body Scanners At JFK, LaGuardia Airports
Opponents said the very detailed image of the human body provided by the machines is an invasion of privacy, while others argued the level of radiation emitted by the Backscatters could be dangerous over the long term.
The TSA said its decision to pull the machines is in an effort to speed up security lines at the two New York City airports, and insists the full body scanners are safe.
So, let’s see – we absolutely had to have these things installed without notice or hearings two years ago, the public squawk be damned (or patted down) if they don’t like it, the things were essential for airline security. Now…we’re removing them (from airports in New York City, no less) because they’re, umm, inconvenient and they slow things down.
I guess they weren’t quite as essential as TSA claimed, then.
This doesn’t actually surprise me, though, and I now wonder if it’s being done with little fanfare elsewhere. I went to KSC last week, and the Orlando airport had only the old-style metal detectors. Coming back from Bremen last month via Dulles, I ran into the same thing – metal detectors only, no scanners at all. If large and symbolically important airports such as these no longer need the rapeyscanners, how long will it be before they are removed entirely?