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TSA Body Scanner Opt-out No Longer Guaranteed (slashgear.com)

codguy writes: Up to now, airline passengers have been able opt out of the TSA's Advanced Imaging Technologies (AIT) whole body scanners, and request a physical pat-down for their security check. But ProPublica journalist Julia Angwin points out that a rule change on December 18, 2015 now allows the TSA to compel some passengers to use these scanners instead of giving them a pat-down. The updated rule says, "While passengers may generally decline AIT screening in favor of physical screening, TSA may direct mandatory AIT screening for some passengers," (PDF source). Of course, the criteria for when this can happen is completely unspecified, and one can easily imagine them abusing this by deciding to compel anyone who requests a pat-down to go through the scanners for some reasonable cause from their perspective. Guilty until proven innocent?

8 of 278 comments (clear)

  1. Re:A pat-down won't find an SD card, body scan wil by Kincaidia · · Score: 3, Informative

    It's not for this. And no, an SD card would be easy. Put it in your mouth, between your buttcheeks, taped to your skin, almost any way to get it through. Or just put it in your wallet with your phone. These scans are only searching for bombs/guns, and only have a 5% success rate. Theatre.

  2. Re:Hyberbole much? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

    These aren't criminal searches (despite the TSA's continued touting of all the illegal items they find which they then share with the police despite the TSA NOT, repeat, NOT, being authorized under any US Code for Law Enforcement activities), they are "administrative" searches...

  3. Re:Hyberbole much? by cHiphead · · Score: 3, Informative

    Sorry that's now how it works. The TSA is a government agency, not a private organization, they don't get to ignore your rights, regardless of any conditions your sign or agree too with a "private" airline. You literally cannot sign away your rights like this.

    Even in criminal plea deals you still have to declare guilt to a crime in court in front of a judge.

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  4. Re: Hyberbole much? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    These are raster machines so they scan you by bombarding you with a paper thin plane beam than pans down your body. If that beam stops, even for a few seconds then it would irradiate the cells along that plane with a massive dose. Not "pseudo science".

    That's not true at all. These machines are are a phased array transducer. It emits a pulsed waves that radiate out in all directions. Interferometry of the reflected wave and the transmitter's position is used to reconstruct the 3D image. It's basically a form of synthetic aperture radar using millimeter wave radio.

  5. Member of congress or senate card by CaptnCrud · · Score: 3, Informative

    is now required to opt out.

  6. Re:Hyberbole much? by pla · · Score: 5, Informative

    You waive your rights when you purchase your ticket

    Do you know what "inalienable" means?

    You can't "waive" your due process rights any more than you can sell yourself into slavery.

  7. Re: Hyberbole much? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Please link to one instance of this happening at a real TSA scanner.

    So you admit that the 95% failure rate in tests to detect explosives by the TSA was not due to "mechanical failure"?

    You can't have it both ways. It's either useful and keeps us safer or it it's a complete clusterfuck.

    (Insert comment about feeling up/scanning genitals and how it makes me feel safe to board a plane.)

  8. Re: Hyberbole much? by Gr8Apes · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'd rather not be irradiated in the first place.

    And please indicate where these are at all effective. Note that in the TSA's own tests they missed nearly all guns and explosives. What's the point of these body scanners, other than allowing the TSA to get the equivalent of nylon filtered pornography? It's obvious the scanners do fuck all for security.

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