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Full Body Scanners Violate Child Porn Laws

Posted by samzenpus on from the think-of-the-children dept.

gandhi_2 writes "The Guardian has a story about an ongoing legal battle over the use of full body scanners in the UK. The Protection of Children Act 1978, includes provisions in which it is illegal to create an indecent image or a 'pseudo-image' of a child... which a full body scanner does."

4 of 751 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Government by wvmarle · · Score: 5, Informative

    If the government does illegal things (like using full-body scanners on minors) then other people may file a complaint to the police, or directly start a law suit. This happens a lot in civil cases where people or companies sue the government.

    The government makes the laws, but is not above the law (at least not in most developed countries with proper separation of powers). Indeed the government can technically do whatever they like, as long as they first make sure their own laws allow them to do so. That's all.

  2. Re:1984 came late... by holygoat · · Score: 5, Informative

    Um...

    http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/08/britain-to-put-cctv-cameras-inside-private-homes/

    "£400 million ($668 million) will be spend on installing and monitoring CCTV cameras in the homes of private citizens. Why? To make sure the kids are doing their homework, going to bed early and eating their vegetables. The scheme has, astonishingly, already been running in 2,000 family homes. The government’s “children’s secretary” Ed Balls is behind the plan, which is aimed at problem, antisocial families. The idea is that, if a child has a more stable home life, he or she will be less likely to stray into crime and drugs."

  3. Re:1984 came late... by Idiomatick · · Score: 5, Informative

    Misreported. No cctv cameras are in people's homes. There are 5~6 families that are forced to lived on government land because of misbehaving. It is offered as an alternative to jail for people with kids.

    I mean it is crappy and all but not nearly as evil as wired/you put it.

    The official site does give me the chills in some places. Though, they don't seem to go beyond what is normal in most neighborhoods (Even in the US), the way they phrase things is a bit much for me.

    http://www.asb.homeoffice.gov.uk/default.aspx

  4. Re:Developed != Civilised by MasterPatricko · · Score: 5, Informative

    Seriously? You are trying to compare a city of 500,000 with a city of 8.5million? Well, still it fails. Yes, the situation in America really is that bad.

    Murders rates for the most recent year I could find.
    Atlanta: 129
    [1]
    London: 130
    [2]

    Yes, that's right, a city with 17 times the population has the same number of murders in a year. That's 17 times lower murder per capita. And the rates for murder are highest in London, they are practically zero elsewhere in the country. It's the same in any other civilised nation where the gun lobby doesn't have control of the legislature and gun laws are actually somewhat sensible.

    --
    I'd tell a UDP joke, but you may not get it. I'd tell a TCP joke, but I'd have to keep repeating it until you got it.