Daniel Tencer
Raw Story
July 12, 2010
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| Some 48 airports have installed the machines so far, and the DHS has purchased 450 of them. | |
A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate requiring all airports to use full-body scanners lacks sufficient privacy safeguards, says a prominent watchdog group.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center says the bill, introduced in the Senate by Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), “contains particularly weak privacy provision[s] that ignore many of the problems with the devices already uncovered.”
The bill (PDF), known as the Securing Aircraft From Explosives Responsibly: Advanced Imaging Recognition (“SAFER AIR”) Act, would require all commercial airports in the US to use full-body scanners as their primary screening method by no later than 2013. The bill is a response to criticism among some lawmakers that the DHS has been dragging its feet on implementing the technology.
Full-body scanners have been in testing at some airports in the US for several years, and the Department of Homeland Security ramped up expansion of the screening program after the Christmas Day bombing attempt. Some 48 airports have installed the machines so far, and the DHS has purchased 450 of them.