There has been much drama in the last few months regarding the fuss stirred up by recent actions of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). In summary, the new backscatter X-ray machines being implemented in airports all across the world have been the cause of much controversy.
These advanced imaging machines produce a nude image of any person who steps inside as a measure to increase security in airports. The health regulations behind these machines are also questionable. Such things as the prohibition of transportation security officers to bring dosimeters to work to measure the amount of radiation they are being exposed to at work and a recent report submitted by Jason Bell from the University of California in San Francisco also warn against submitting to one of these scans without considering alternatives first when we fly commercially.
If you are flying in the near future you may want to consider opting out of the backscatter scan if you are selected by stating, "I choose to opt out" when the officer tells you to enter the machine. The problem is that when you opt out of the scan, you then are required to submit to a pat-down. These are not the kind of pat-downs you are used to when entering a concert or a simple police pat-down. This particular one includes running the front of the hands up and down the inner thighs of individuals as well as grabbing the crotch area. For females the pat-down also includes cupping of the breasts of airline customers with the front of the officer’s hands.
This is also a highly invasive measure that in any case outside of an airport would easily be classified as sexual assault. If you refuse both of these options then you will be escorted out of the airport by security and prohibited from flying. As you can tell this causes a lot of controversy when it comes to boarding your flight. Will you continue to fly and allow the TSA to get away with putting your health at risk with a scanner or grope your sensitive areas as a mandatory requirement to board the plane?
When we raise children in this new age, we should not have to teach them to not allow anybody to touch your private areas, unless its the TSA, because then it’s OK. These machines are being installed in Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax. I don't want to allow these to be installed because there has not been sufficient thought given to the ramifications of this technology.
It has also been stated by TSA representatives that the images cannot be saved or retained but recently 35,000 illegally saved images have been leaked online. This is very disturbing to me and we need to begin talking about this issue around dinner tables. Promoting this issue will lead to intelligent solutions that do not involve such an invasion of privacy and allow us to approach this with tact.
Ryan Letts, St. Albert
